Class \?i fi x 5 \j A 

Book *A 1 G" ^ 



THE 



OHIO CONFERENCE OFFERING; 

OR, 

umuB anb Ikrttjpa of Inraana, 

ON 

FAMILIAR AND PRACTICAL SUBJECTS, 

FROM 

IN TWO PARTS. 



EDITED BY 

REV. MAXWELL P. GADDIS, 

OF THE OHIO CONFERENCE. 



(Etnctnnatt: 

PRINTED AT THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN, 
FOR THE EDITOR. 

R. P. THOMPSON, PRINTER. 

1851. 




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851. 

BY MAXWELL P. GADDIS, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
District of Ohio. 



Em. Sarah ^nang, 

OF 

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 

THE 

OLDEST EFFECTIVE MINISTER OF THE OHIO ANNUAL 
CONFERENCE, 

IN THE SEVENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF HIS AGE, AND FIFTY-FIRST OF HIS ITIN- 
ERANT MINISTRY — AN ABLE ADVOCATE OF THE DOCTRINES, DISCIPLINE, 
AND USAGES OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH — A ZEALOUS 

PATRON OF SANCTIFIED LEARNING* AN ARDENT LOVER 

OF.. YOUNG MEN — THE FRIEND OF THE 
WIDOW AND ORPHAN, 

& I) t ©ffcrtng 

is 

AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED, 

BY HIS 

ATTACHED FRIEND AND JUNIOR FELLOW-LABORER IN THE VINEYARD OF 
IMMANUEL, 

MAXWELL PIERSON G ADDIS. 



PREFACE. 



The history of the " Ohio Conference Offering," 
or volume of sermons and sketches, may be given in 
few words. About twelve months since, on awaking 
early in the morning, I found " sleep had departed 
from my eyes, and slumber from my eyelids," and 
my mind unusually calm and peaceful. As I waited 
for the Lord as they that " watch for the morning," 
a voice from the spirit-land seemed to whisper in my 
ear, "Tell them to remember my wife and dear 
little children!" In a moment I was transported 
back to the spring of 1842, when these emphatic 
words were addressed to me personally by a bold 
champion of the cross upon his dying bed. For 
more than twenty-three years he had toiled in the 
itinerant field without missing an appointment from 
ill health ; but the " hand of God had touched him," 
and the noble form was prostrated by an incurable dis- 
ease ; the signet of death was on his brow ; and now, 
while the most tender earthly ties were sundering, 
and the flashing eye was becoming dim, he took my 
hand in his, and, with a look of inexpressible tender- 
ness, remarked: u Tell my brethren of the Ohio con- 
ference that I love them ; yea, that I love them in 
the bowels of Jesus Christ ; that I love them better 
than any men whom I have ever known on earth ; 

because they are the most affectionate cmd cha/rita* 

1* 5 



6 



PREFACE. 



hie! Tell them to remember my wife and dear 
little children!" He could add no more; his work 
was finished. Gentle reader, let me ask you if you 
can imagine any thing more touching than a scene 
like this. 

After recalling to mind all the thrilling incidents 
of the never-to-be-forgotten death-bed scene of that 
noble minister of Jesus, my heart became deeply 
affected, and, as I mused upon the melancholy pic- 
ture, I wept, and fancied I could hear a soft and gen- 
tle whisper from the graves of the loved and de- 
parted Quinn, Sale, Collins, Barrett, Butler, Finley, 
Fernandes, Ferree, Christie, Baldwin, Parrish, An- 
derson, Jones, Morrow, and Stroud, saying, "Tell 

THEM, O TELL THEM TO REMEMBER MY WIFE AND CHIL- 
DREN !" After pondering deeply on these solemn 
things, and reflecting on the sacredness of the duty 
once imposed upon me, and how poorly I had dis- 
charged that duty, I asked myself the question, " Can 
any thing more be done to aid these widows and 
orphans than the usual annual collections from the 
circuits and stations?" "I prayed to the God of 
heaven," and soon felt his good hand rested upon 
me. The following plan presented itself to my 
mind: Call on the junior ministers of the confer- 
ence for short, practical sermons, and publish the 
same in a handsome volume at the Western Book 
Concern, and appropriate the entire proceeds of the 
annual sales to the relief of the widows and orphan 
children of our brethren who "died at their post." 
This plan, by request, was made public, through the 
"Advocate;" and, on ascertaining that it was most 
cordially approved by the ministry and laity of our 



PREFACE. 



Church, I immediately commenced soliciting suit- 
able sermons from my junior co-laborers in the con- 
ference. 

At the session of our last conference, in Chilico- 
the, the following preamble and resolution, approv- 
ing the undertaking, was offered by Professor How- 
ard, and unanimously adopted by the conference : 

"Whereas, we learn that Rev. Maxwell P. Gad 
dis, during the past year, has collected a number oi 
sermons from the junior preachers of this confer 
ence, and, also, a number of sermons and sketches 
from distinguished and beloved ministers who have 
died in the work; and, whereas, brother Gaddis 
proposes to publish said sermons and sketches in a 
book to be called the "Ohio Conference Offering," 
the proceeds to be applied to the benefit of the wid- 
ows and orphans of deceased ministers of the Ohio 
annual conference ; therefore, 

" Resolved, That we cordially approve of this be- 
nevolent and praiseworthy undertaking of brother 
Gaddis, and recommend its speedy publication ; and 
we moreover promise, that we will use our influence 
to encourage its circulation in our respective fields 
of labor. 

"Signed, Solomon Howard, 

Joseph S. Tomlinson, 
John W. "Weakley, 
William Young, 
John Miley, 
Frederick Merrick, 
Granville Moody." 
In presenting the Church with this humble " Offer- 
ing," I feel an inward consciousness that I have 



8 



PREFACE. 



been prompted by the purest motives, and actuated, 
from first to last, by a true spirit of disinterested be- 
nevolence, a sincere and fervent desire to glorify 
God, and an anxious solicitude to co-operate with 
my brethren of the conference, in drying the tears 
of the heart-stricken widow of the deceased itiner- 
ant, and, also, to contribute my mite to assuage the 
woes of helpless orphanage. I have spent much 
time in collecting the manuscripts of the departed. 
This has been a mournful yet pleasant task. But 
my work is now done. It has brought its own re- 
ward. 

"For if there be one joy above another, 

Which minds of earthly mold may borrow, 
To thee that angel bliss is given, 
While weeping for another's sorrow." 

With this brief explanation of the origin and de- 
sign of the work, this unpretending little volume, 
with its gentle voices of love and warning from earth 
and heaven — the living and the dead — is sent forth 
on its errand of mercy and mission of benevolence. 

Maxwell P. Gaddis. 

Springfield, 0., Mag 3, 1851. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 



Introduction • ■ Page IS 

SERMON I. 

BY REV. URIAH HEATH. 

Adoption of the Fatherless and the Widow 21 

SERMON II. 
by rev. frederick merrick. 
The Great Commandment. 40 

SERMON III, 

BY REV. JAMES L. GROVER. 

Present Sufferings and Future Glory 54 

SERMON IV. 

BY REV. JOHN W. WEAKLEY. 

The Security of the Church. 63 

SERMON V. 

BY REV. HENRY BAKER. 

Life, Death, and Immortality 79 

SERMON VI. 

BY REV. DAVID WARNOCK. 

What must I do to be saved? 90 

SERMON VII. 

BY REV. ANDREW CARROLL. 

Proper Use of the Mammon of Unrighteousness 95 

SERMON VIII. 

BY REV. WILLIAM F. STEWART. 

The Christian Brotherhood 109 

SERMON IX. 
by rev. lorenzo d. harlan. 
The New Testament Temple. 119 



9 

I 



10 



CONTENTS. 



SERMON X. 

BY REV. GEORGE C. CRUM. 

The Importance of Moral and Religious Education Page 139 

SERMON XI. 

BY REV. MOSES SMITH. 

Israel's Triumph at the Red Sea. 157 

SERMON XII. 

BY REV. JOHN S. INSKIP. 

Resurrection of Christ 165 

SERMON XIII. 

BY REV. CLINTON W. SEARS. 

Keeping the Heart 182 

SERMON XIV. 

BY REV. NATHANIEL WESTERMAN. 

Necessity of Divine Support. 199 

SERMON XV. 

BY REV. JOHN MILEY. 

The Duty of Reverence in approaching God 208 

SERMON XVI. 
by rev. william h. sutherland. 
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 226 

SERMON XVH. 

BY REV. WILLIAM I. ELLSWORTH. 

The Christian Ministry 239 

SERMON XVIII. 
by rev. john w. fowble. 
The Certainty of Prophecy 252 

SERMON XIX. 
by rev. asbury lowrey. 
The Profound Prayer 260 

SERMON XX. 
by rev. arza brown. 
Christian Purity. 273 

SERMON XXI. 
by rev. alexander nelson. 
Necessity and Evidences of Revelation. 283 

SERMON XXII. 
by rev. david a. dryden. 
Characteristics and Duties of Man 291 



CONTENTS. 1 1 

SERMON XXIII. 

BY REV. JOSEPH H. CREIGHTON. 

Law and Better Hope Contrasted Page 304 

SERMON XXIV. 
by pearl p. ingals. 
Life and Character of Joseph 318 

SERMON XXV. 
by rev. william young. 
The Christian's Possessions. • 325 



PART II. 



SERMON I. # 

BY BISHOP WILLIAM M'KENDREE. 

Funeral Discourse. 337 

SERMON II. 
by rev. edward tiffin, m. d. 
The Nativity of Christ • • • « 340 

SERMON III. 
by rev. edward tiffin, m. d. 
Search the Scriptures 349 

SERMON IV. 

BY REV. EDWARD TIFFIN, M. D. 

The Choice of Moses 355 

SERMON V. 

BY REV. WILLIAM B. CHRISTIE. 

A Plea for the Mourners' Bench 361 

SERMON VI. 

BY REV. JOHN FERREE. 

Prospering of God's Word 374 

SERMON VII. 
by rev. russel bigelow. 
Dissolution of the Earthly Tabernacle. 379 

SERMON VIII. 

BY REV. RUSSEL BIGELOW. 

The Flood Improved 395 



12 



CONTENTS. 



SERMON IX. 

BY REV. ALEXANDER MORROW. 

Crucified with Christ. Page 399 

SERMON X. 

BY REV. CHARLES Ri BALDWIN. 

The Rewards of Obedience 404 

SERMON XI. 

BY REV. ELIJAH SPARKS. 

The Law of Liberty. 412 

SERMON XII. 

BY REV. RUSSEL BIGELOW. 

Improvement of National Benefits 421 



INTRODUCTION. 



Sermons form a valuable part of the literature of 
the Church. They are also important in a historical 
point of view, as they serve to indicate the peculiar 
doctrines and tone of piety of the Church from 
which they emanate, as well as the prevalent errors 
of the age and the spirit of the times. 

The existence of any prevailing error, or the 
attention bestowed upon any peculiar doctrine, will 
be reflected from the pulpit as necessarily as the 
ever-varying phases of society are indicated by the 
secular press. Not that we would for a moment 
entertain the idea or convey the remotest hint that 
the pulpit bears the slightest resemblance to the 
press in catering for the various tastes and pursuits 
of the age ; for this would be to degrade it from its 
high and commanding position as the light of the 
world ; but it is evident that the various tastes and 
pursuits of the times constitute the occasion for the 
pulpit's expression in regard to their character and 
tendency in their bearings upon society. Whatever 
eulogies may be pronounced upon the press, as the 
"second ark," in which is preserved all the literature 
and science of the past and all the hope of the future, 
it must be conceded that it owes its very existence, 
as well as its almost ubiquitous power, to the foster- 
ing light of Christianity. The pulpit and the press 

2 13 



14 



INTRODUCTION. 



are conservatives of the public morals, and are held 
accountable, in a greater or less degree, for the influ- 
ence they wield upon society, in creating and con- 
trolling public opinion. Both are, more or less, sus- 
ceptible to the influences around them, and both are 
liable to corruption; but not equally so. The one is 
the voice of the Church, the other the voice of the 
people; and their testimony forms the data from 
which the historian makes up his opinion of the 
religious and political condition of the age, as well 
as the criteria by which a judgment may be formed 
of its character. 

The sermons of Christ were peculiarly adapted to 
the times, and serve to throw more light upon the 
habits, manners, tastes, and opinions of the people 
among whom he labored than all the profane, collat- 
eral testimony which can be produced. The sermons 
of the apostle Paul at Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, and 
Rome constitute the true and faithful exponents of 
the prevailing tastes, habits, and opinions of those 
ancient seats of idolatry and sin. 

The sermons delivered in the days of Luther, 
Cranmer, and Wesley form important indices of the 
times in which they lived. In Bishop Home's pref- 
ace to his discourses he says: "There is a taste in 
moral and religious, as well as in other compositions, 
which varies in different ages, and may very lawfully 
and innocently be indulged. Thousands received 
instruction and consolation formerly from sermons 
which would not now be endured. The preachers 
of them served their generation, and are blessed for 
evermore. But because provision was made for the 
wants of the last century in one way, there is no 



INTRODUCTION. 



15 



reason why it should not be made for the wants of 
• this in another. The next century will behold a set 
of writers of a qualification suited to it, when our 
discourses shall, in their turn, be antiquated and for- 
gotten among men ; though, if any good be wrought 
by them in this their day, our hope is with that of 
faithful Jeremiah, that our God will remember us 
concerning them." It is said by an English critic 
of Bishop Latimer's sermons, "that they were nei- 
ther erudite, elegant, nor well arranged; but they 
were faithful, striking, and practical, presenting an 
affecting picture of the times in which he lived. 
Some expressions in his sermons could scarcely be 
tolerated on any plea, and can only be accounted for 
by the times in which he lived." 

The sermons of the present age will give a clew to 
the internal and external condition of the Church, as 
forming a cotemporary history, and will remain as a 
monument, through all coming time, of the genius 
and character of the age, as well in a literary as a 
moral and ecclesiastical aspect. 

The following sermons belong to this age, and, 
with few exceptions, are the productions of living, 
efficient preachers, fresh from the fields of their pro- 
fession. They were not delivered before theological 
classes in schools of divinity, or in the pulpits of uni- 
versities, where theology may appear in state, coming 
forth arrayed in the full armor of a rich and massive 
erudition, where the costly stores of things new and 
old are drawn from her vast resources, and exhibited 
to public view. It is well enough, however, for the 
enemies of religion to know that the Church pos- 
sesses opulence and strength adequate to any emerg- 



16 



INTRODUCTION. 



ency, and that her outposts are well guarded by sen- 
tinels full armed; that neither moth nor rust has 
destroyed her treasures or corroded the weapons of 
her warfare, and that thieves have not broken through 
nor carried away her magazines and armories. 

These discourses were not written to gratify the 
ears which lust for curious investigations or finely- 
woven metaphysical disquisitions. The book was 
not designed to excite an attention like to that which 
attracts crowds to the race-course or theater, where 
panting candidates contend for the crown or the palm. 
Such a design would make it utterly unworthy of the 
object its benevolent projector had in view, as well 
as defeat all the ends of that Gospel w r hich to the 
prejudiced "Jew was a stumbling-block," and to the 
skeptical "Greek, foolishness," but to all sincere 
inquirers is " the power of God unto salvation." 

They are the productions of men w T ho have studied 
theology from the Bible and nature, in the "grand, 
old woods" of the west, and who are as familiar 
with its men, and character, and wants as they are 
with its bold and expansive scenery, and will clearly 
evince that they have not fallen behind in the mighty 
march of progress. 

This volume will awaken a thousand hallowed 
associations. It will recall, most vividly, scenes 
upon which the pious heart loves to linger. Past, 
but not forgotten events, occurring during the labors 
of the men of God whose sermons are here recorded, 
when they, as embassadors for Christ, poured from 
the living fountains of their hearts the breathing 
thoughts and burning words of a message full of 
mercy and love, will come back again fresh to the 



INTRODUCTION. 



17 



memory, and pass before it as beautiful visions, mel- 
lowed by the light of other days. To the young 
convert, we ask who possesses the pathos, power, 
and eloquence of that beloved minister who guided 
him through the rugged and sorrowful path of re- 
pentance to the foot of the cross, and there assisted 
him in casting his soul and body, for time and eter- 
nity, upon its bleeding victim? And as it is with 
the believer, so it is with the pastor. "There are 
none," said the apostle, "like minded, who will care 
for your souls." Here may be brought to mind the 
faithful admonitions, the glorious truths, and the 
heart-cheering promises of those whose love for us, 
and whose concern for our salvation, is the same as 
when they took us by the hand and gently led us 
through the green pastures and beside the still 
waters of a Savior's love. In this changeful world 
our dearest friends may die, or, what is worse, may 
cease to love us ; but the love of a pastor is change- 
less. The soul brought, through his agency, to taste 
the pardoning love of God, is endeared to his heart 
in an affection stronger than that which made David 
and Jonathan so "pleasant and lovely in their lives," 
and kept them in "death undivided." It may be 
illustrated by the affection subsisting between a 
father and his child, or the higher, holier, stronger 
love which existed in the heart of Jesus for his dis- 
ciples, which continued to the end. 

This book will awaken other associations. Gotten 
up, as it was, for the benefit of the widows of ministers 
who lived, labored, and died in the work of spread- 
ing abroad a Savior's love, memories of their zeal 

and devotion in the Master's service will cluster 

2* 



18 



INTRODUCTION. 



around us, and call up from the heart's deep fount 
the tenderest emotions. 

Their sainted dust consecrates our cemeteries in 
city and country. No splendid mausoleums mark 
the places of their repose ; no high-wrought eulogies 
in brass or marble tell of their deep, self-sacrificing 
devotion ; but their deeds are graven on ten thousand 
hearts, and will live in the Church as her richest leg- 
acy. These sermons will be a memento mori to 
coming generations, and will serve as a monument 
to perpetuate the names of those who fell in their 
work, while the occasion of their publication will 
call to remembrance the loved ones left to our pro- 
tection and support. Apart from these considera- 
tions, we are sure the Ohio Conference Offering will 
meet with that favor from the Church and a discrim- 
inating public it so richly deserves. 

William P. Stkickland. 



SERMONS 



ON 

/(tmtliar nnfr f mttirnl Ittbjnis, 

BY 

' THE JUNIOR MINISTERS OP THE OHIO ANNUAL CONFERENCE, 



PART I. 



"To win a soul is your noblest prize; and the more you win, the richer 
and greater will be the crown of your rejoicing in the day of the Lord 
Jesus." — Rev. Richaed Watson. 



THE 

OHIO CONFERENCE OFFERING, 



SEKMON I. 

BY REV. URIAH HEATH. 

ADOPTION OF THE FATHERLESS AND THE WIDOW. 

"A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widow, is God in his 
holy habitation," Psalm Lxvm, 5. 

Amid the rejoicings of Israel's hosts, as they chanted 
before the ark the aspirations of their hearts, in the words 
of their pious king, and claimed, by faith, an answer to 
their prayer, there was no one declaration upon which 
they dwelt with more of devotion and rapture than the 
words of our subject. They saw the symbol of God's 
presence, going up to the place prepared for it, as the 
abode of the " mighty God of Jacob." Before the eye of 
their faith, the enemies of the Lord were scattered as the 
smoke is dispersed by the driving wind, and the strength 
of their foes was dissolved as the wax is melted before 
the fire. They rejoiced in the prospect of security from 
future invasion, and broke forth into a song of praise to 
Him who "rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah." 
But when they embody that joy, in the language of dis- 
tinct specification, their mind recurs to the care of God 
over his people, and they sing, in the fullness of their soul, 
"A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widow, 
is God in his holy habitation." We consider our subject 
as presenting principles of action, by which God has been 

21 



22 



ADOPTION OF THE 



pleased to declare he would govern his administration 
toward man, not only in the far-off days of the Jewish 
monarchy, but down to the last hour, when an orphan 
might be left to mourn the loneliness of his unprotected 
state, or a widow to weep under the bitings of avarice, or 
pine amidst the coldness of neglect. For, while, in the 
Old Testament, we hear the Almighty cheering the spirit 
of the dying father, by the announcement of that blessed 
declaration, " Leave thy fatherless children, I will pre- 
serve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me," in the 
New we see the Lord Jesus Christ literally tearing the mask 
from the concealed heart of the avaricious Pharisee, and 
thundering in his ear, "Woe unto you, scribes and Phari- 
sees, hypocrites ! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a 
pretense make long prayer : these shall receive greater dam- 
nation!" The spirit of both covenants is embodied in the 
action of the Savior, as he stands by the bier of the father- 
less, and sympathizes with that worn and wasted form, 
whose "coal was quenched in Israel," and brings again 
the thrill of joy from that withered heart, by presenting 
to the fondness of maternal embrace that son for whom 
she mourned as dead. In the consideration of this sub- 
ject we notice the following points : 

I. That the cases of the fatherless and widows 

PRESENT STRONG CLAIMS TO THE BEST FEELINGS OF OUR NA- 
TURE. 

II. That, in the present condition of society, those 

CLAIMS ARE OFTEN DISREGARDED. 

III. That, in the defenseless condition of the claim- 
ants, the Almighty proclaims himself the father of 
the one and the judge of the other. 

In this order, then, we notice, 

I. That the cases of the fatherless and widows 

PRESENT STRONG CLAIMS TO THE BEST FEELINGS OF OUR NA- 
TURE. 



FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 



23 



These claims we will urge from the following consider- 
ations : 

1. Deeply fallen as we are, it is still generally admit- 
ted, that every generous mind is favorably affected by any 
case of entire dependence and deep distress. So deeply 
is this principle interwoven in our nature, that the 
theater and the novel press seem almost entirely based 
upon it. The minions of Satan present before a hard- 
ened audience the mere picture of human suffering, and 
by the bare description of ties which bound kindred 
spirits — riven by the hand of rude interference — hopes 
once cherished by the dependent and confiding, crushed 
by the unwelcome approach of death, they draw tears 
from the eyes of the malicious, and bring a sigh from the 
cold heart of hatred and revenge. Shall fiction arouse 
man's nature, and falsehood, clothed in the livery of 
truth, stir the depth of his soul, while all the living in- 
terest thrown around dependent childhood, orphaned in its 
deepest feeling, or widowhood, mourning at the grave of 
departed hope, present their claim in vain ? No : bad as 
is the world, and deeply as we are sunk in crime, the 
claim is generally acknowledged, and, when there is no 
influence of the spirit of covetousness, the claim is fully 
met. There is a something, within the breast of the feel- 
ing and the generous, that will not turn away the plea 
made by the bare sight of helpless suffering, or close their 
ear against the accents which fall from the lips of the 
widow. As the eye rests on the orphan, the heart be- 
comes interested to know who will instruct this tender 
mind ; who pluck away the weeds of sin*; who bend the 
tendrils of thought around the supports of truth ; who 
provide for those who do not know the extent of their own 
want. The remembrance of our own dear, dependent 
ones, the interest of their inquiring and confiding counte- 
nance, and the deep and untold feeling of a father's heart, 



24 



ADOPTION OF THE 



all arise unbidden to our view, and call forth an interest 
in behalf of those who suffer. Our own fond hopes with 
regard to our offspring, the hours of sleepless interest 
we have passed in planning, or in prayer, and the deep, 
unutterable sigh which has escaped our heart, at the bare 
thought that the mother who smiles upon the babes we 
call our own, may, one day, bedew their faces with the 
tears of bereavement, and those little ones stand weeping 
around the grave of their father, all forbid our looking 
with indifference on the orphan, or passing slightly over 
the claims of the widow. But the interest we feel should 
not arise from the mere thought of what they suffer, but 
2. From a sense of the importance of the period of 
youth to make the proper impression for after days, and the 
necessity of some friendly hand to make that impression. 
If the mind of youth be like the yielding wax, which 
bears the full impression of the seal, or the block of mar- 
ble in the hand of the sculptor, we see the importance of 
early impressions being made by one who feels as a father 
only can feel — who is resolved to give "line upon line, pre- 
cept upon precept/' till he shall distinctly behold the 
opening powers of youthful intellect bearing the impres- 
sion of scientific culture and Scriptural devotion. The 
great truth presented in the word of God, "train up a 
child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will 
not depart from it," has been acknowledged, to a greater 
or less extent, in every age, and in every nation ; and all 
nature has been taxed to furnish illustrations which might 
arrest the attention and fix impression upon tJie mind. 
The man of threescore years, in all the ripeness of men- 
tal improvement, and all the richness of Christian experi- 
ence, still refers, with grateful emotion, to the hours of 
early parental training, and delights to think of the days 
when he sat by the knee of his father and heard the les- 
sons of morning and evening instruction. The urgency 



FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 



25 



of petition to the throne of grace, and the confidence man- 
ifested in the protection of God, which so deeply affected 
his heart in the days of his childhood, still live in his 
memory, and he blesses the God of his fathers for pa- 
rental watch -care and Christian example. The son who 
returns from his distant wanderings, bears testimony to 
the fact, that amid the maddening scenes of dissipation, 
surrounded by those who would have led him to forget 
the lessons of his early youth, he heard, above the roar 
of their laughter, the calm communings of his father, and 
in the darkest shades of the night he saw the tearful face 
of his mother. The earnest prayer for his safety on earth, 
and salvation in heaven ; the sight of the last token of 
parental love, still looking out from its place of neglect, 
as the only book worthy of his entire confidence ; the re- 
currence of the hour when loved ones gathered around 
the altar made sacred by a thousand remembrances, have 
all borne upon his heart, and, in spite of his pride, in 
defiance of his philosophy, and under the very eye of 
thoughtless and wicked associates, have caused him to 
sigh for the home of his happier days, and driven him to 
seek for a place where, unobserved by seducers, he might 
shed the tears of bitterness, and pour out the prayer of 
repentance. And even the man of crime, who, for years, 
has been reaping, within the walls of a prison, the fruits 
of a life spent in disobedience to the laws of God and 
man, speaks from the cell of his incarceration, and charges 
the fearfulness of his doom to the lack of early parental 
culture. Viewed, then, in the light of immortal beings, 
purchased by the blood of the Son of God, and destined 
to exert an influence on the world to the latest time, but 
surrounded by influences calculated to deceive, to insnare, 
and to destroy, the orphan, unguided and lonely, certainly 
has a claim to the sympathy of every generous spirit. 
3. If the doctrine be true, that i( whatsoever a man 
3 



26 ■ ADOPTION OF THE 

soweth that shall he also reap" the orphan holds a strong 
claim to our kindest regard, both as it respects his own sal- 
vation, and the bearing of his life upon the kingdom of 
Christ. While we admit that the demon, once fully in- 
trenched in the heart, is hard to dislodge ; that the ground, 
once overgrown with briers and thorns, is harder to prepare 
for the seed; that habits of sin, once formed, are not so 
likely ever to be entirely abandoned, we must feel that the 
mental and moral culture of the fatherless claims the atten- 
tion of the thoughtful, and demands the labors of the fa- 
vored. If the kingdom of our common Master calls for 
the service of well-trained soldiers to hasten the final 
victory, the desire to "save souls from death, and to hide 
a multitude of sins/' should prompt every Christian to aid 
the widow in the proper training of her orphans, and en- 
courage the fatherless, by the tender of that sympathy 
which lessens the keenness of their loss, and prompts 
them to rise above the frowns of the world. 

4. The claims of the fatherless are important in the light 
of their and our connection with a f ree and enlightened gov- 
ernment. Here the citizen, however cultured, whether 
well or ill informed, holds in his hands the right of suf- 
frage. It is said by great men, who are warm admirers 
of our government, that we are a nation of kings ! Shall 
the petty despot, who rules a small principality in Europe, 
be educated with special reference to the station he is to 
occupy, and the influence he is expected to exert, and 
native-born Americans — heirs to the rights and privileges 
of freemen — be permitted to grow up without mental and 
moral cultivation? ^Ye rejoice that the public mind is be- 
coming so instinct with life, on the subject of education, 
that colleges rise, in their o-randeur, before our eve, and 
that our own beloved state already presents a sufficient 
number to meet the growing wants of the people. These 
institutions are being so permanently founded, that they 



FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 



27 



promise to swell out to those ample dimensions, and invite 
by those increasing facilities, which now encourage the 
hearts of the parents, and will, we hope, fully meet the 
hopes of the youth. The laboring classes of this land 
may look with high satisfaction upon the prospect which 
rises before their offspring, and thank God that here there 
is no privileged path to science, to honor, or to wealth. 
They see the sons of the poor take rank with those of the 
wealthy, and feel that self-denial is a pleasure when made 
to elevate their offspring. The old and hackneyed objec- 
tions, so long urged against the proper cultivation of 
female mind, are already become obsolete, and the man 
can scarcely be found who will risk his reputation by de- 
nying either their capacity or their right to similar training 
with those for whom they are designed, by Providence, 
to be full and equal companions. The duties we owe our 
common country ; the desire we feel to transmit, to distant 
posterity, all the principles and privileges of a free gov- 
ernment ; the generous impulses of an enlightened mind 
toward the multiplied thousands who annually arrive on 
our shores from the lower classes of the old world; the 
hope of fortifying the mind of our youth against those 
influences arising from the unheard-of increase of foreign 
population, and of foreign attachment, flowing in upon us 
from the increase of territory, and the rage for gold ; and 
last, though not least, the generous wish of every good 
man to prepare those now in actual training for the great 
battle of public sentiment which is to banish the hated 
curse of slavery, and bid the downtrodden millions, who 
now groan under the iron heel of oppression, lift up their 
heads and breathe the air of freedom — all strongly demand 
that, amid the general education of the people, the widow 
be not forgotten, to sink under the weight of her charge, 
nor the claims of the fatherless be left unacknowledged or 
unmet. 



28 



ADOPTION OF THE 



5. The claims of the widow demand our attention from 
the peculiarity of their nature. Hers are the claims of 
woman, the loveliest of God's creation which is open to 
out inspection, designed as the perfection of man's joy, 
and the more than equal sharer in all man's griefs. But 
now they are the claims of woman in distress ; the hours 
of her affianced affection, once met by the requital of 
faithful love, all passed by ; the voice that fell like music 
upon her ear no longer heard ; the prospect that shone so 
clearly along her pilgrimage path obscured by clouds, 
which naught but the light of heaven can pierce ! She 
labors to find some relief, in twining the riven ties of her 
undying affection, still bleeding from the rudeness of their 
severance, around the offspring, who bear the impress of 
a name which can never fade from her memory. She 
weeps a loss she can not utter. Formed to confide, she 
sighs the absence of one in whom she safely trusted. She 
shrinks from the thought of that ruder grapple with this 
world's commerce and with this world's fraud, for which 
her gentle nature was never formed, and sinks under the 
thought of an increase of care and a decrease of means. 
If a nature capable of gratitude for generous actions ; if 
loveliness withering under the blast of misfortune ; if will- 
ing powers taxed above their unaided strength, or all that 
is lovely in that attachment which throws so much of 
charm around the name of mother, be objects worthy of 
our regard, then the claims of the widow must be honored 
bv every feeling and generous heart. She loves the image 
that lingers in her mind, and would carry out the wish 
which was but their mutual expression ; but her hopes are 
crushed by the cruel spoiler. To consent to abandon all 
she can not. Her children press upon her, and, fainting 
under her burden, she pours her petition into the ears of 
the Almighty, and calmly awaits the answer of her heav- 
enly Father. 



FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 



29 



But the whole claim is not yet before us ; for 
6. There are some widows and some fatherless children 
whose claims appear before us rather in the light of jus- 
tice, making a clear demand, than of sympathy, based upon the 
feelings of common humanity. The widow who has passed 
the days of her happy union with the companion of her 
choice amidst the circle of her early friends, and who weeps 
surrounded by those who long have prized her friendship, is 
to be pitied, and often does receive a full and honorable 
expression of those feelings which go far to ennoble human 
nature. But the woman who, in the joyous days of life's 
bright spring, bade farewell to the home of her youth, and 
to the comforts which abound in the place of settled life ; 
who suspended the strong action of those ties which 
bound her in affection to parents, to brothers, and to sis- 
ters, and, for Christ's sake, became a wanderer in the 
earth, and, like her Master, had not where to lay her 
head, save by temporary lien at the bestowment of others ; 
who has seen the funds given her by her father slowly but 
steadily wasting away, in supplying the "lack of service" 
due from circuits and stations faithfully served by her hus- 
band ; and now the consideration which gained their tem- 
porary occupancy of a dwelling removed forever, and her 
children, who might and would have been heirs of this 
world's competency, pressing upon the agonized feelings 
of her heart for a support in childhood and a mental 
training in youth, while she is left destitute of the means 
of a comfortable subsistence — this woman and these children 
present a claim which must be respected by every heart 
but that of a demon. We come now to notice, 

II. That, in the present condition of society, these 

CLAIMS ARE OFTEN DISREGARDED. 

1. The inquiry arises at once, From what cause could 
neglect of claims so strongly marked and so generally 
acknowledged as those of the "widow and the fatherless" 

3* 



30 



ADOPTION OF THE 



arise? We answer, from the ever- grasping and too gen- 
erally-tolerated spirit of covetousness — a spirit which sold 
the Lord of life and glory for "thirty pieces of silver," 
and gambled for his coat under the drippings of the blood 
of crucifixion — a spirit classed in Scripture with all that is 
dark in its aspect and degrading in its influence — which 
stops not at the bare neglect of claims, however feelingly 
presented by the one who sits " covered with her weeds," 
or those who mourn the loss of the guide of their youth, 
but which, at the clink of "mammon's box," can make 
widows with a smile, hush the groans of the fatherless 
with the scourge, and then insult the blessed Jesus by 
casting into his treasury the price of blood — the same 
spirit which, amid the wreck of character and fortune, the 
tears of the wife, and the visages of children like the 
"walking ghosts of famine, " unhoused and pitiless, all 
the legitimate effect of a heaven-accursed traffic, can still 
defend itself by saying, "I have done them no harm; I 
did not compel them to drink." 

2. The neglect of the claims of the ividow and her charge 
is not peculiar to the day in which we live. The withering 
and damning nature of covetousness is such, that the Lord 
saw that, even among his chosen people, the claims of 
those so worthy of deepest sympathy would likely be for- 
gotten ; and, therefore, fenced their interest by the definite 
language of special enactment: "Ye shall not afflict any 
widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any 
wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their 
cry, and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with 
the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your chil- 
dren fatherless," Exodus xxii, 22-24. "The fatherless 
and the widow which are within thy gates shall come, and 
shall eat and be satisfied, that the Lord thy God may bless 
thee in all the work of thy hands which thou doest," 
Deut, xiv, 29, The Lord provides that the forgotten 



FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 



m 



sheaves in the- field shall not be gathered in, the boughs 
of the olive-tree shall not be beaten a second time, nor 
the gleaning grapes be gathered from the vineyard; all 
these should be left for " the stranger, the fatherless, and 
the widow." In the book of Job, one of the charges 
made against the wicked is, " He doeth not good to the 
widow." It was expressed by Job, as a comfort in the 
hour of his deepest grief, that he could say, " The bless- 
ing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I 
caused the widow's heart to leap for joy ;** and, with an 
unshaken trust, which nothing but the consciousness of 
correct action could inspire, he exclaimed, " If I have 
withheld from the poor their desire, or caused the eyes of 
the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel myself alone, 
and the fatherless have not eaten thereof; if I have lifted 
up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help 
in the gate, let mine arm fall from my shoulder-blade, and 
mine arm be broken from the bone." One of the severest 
rebukes given to Israel by the prophet Isaiah was, " They 
judge not the fatherless; neither doth the cause of the 
widow come unto them." In the lapsed condition of 
Israel, in the days of Jeremiah, when they were earnestly 
entreated to return to the Lord, from whom they had re- 
volted, the Almighty made this one of the conditions of 
their acceptance: "If ye oppress not the stranger, the 
fatherless, and the widow, then will I cause you to dwell 
in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for- 
ever and ever." By the mouth of Zechariah, the Lord 
again thunders in the ear of Israel, "Oppress not the 
fatherless and the widow," and closes the special provi- 
sion for their claim in Malachi, by declaring that he will be 
a "swift witness against all who oppress the fatherless and 
the widow." 

3. The Scriptures charge the neglect of the fatherless 
and the widow upon a delinquent Church as a crime of 



32 



ADOPTION OF THE 



peculiar enormity. "Ye overwhelm the fatherless/' Job 
vi, 27. " Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the 
arms of the fatherless have been broken/' Job xxii, 19. 
"They drive away the ass of the fatherless, and take the 
widow's ox for a pledge," xxiv, 3. " They turn aside the 
needy from judgment, and take away the right of the 
poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and 
that they may rob the fatherless," Isaiah x, 2. "They 
have vexed the fatherless and the widow," xxii, 7. And 
not only under the old dispensation, but in the JSTew Tes- 
tament Church, the first cause of general murmuring 
arose, even under the eye of the apostles, from the "neg- 
lect of the widows in the daily ministration." And this 
evil was immediately guarded against by the Holy Ghost, 
in the appointment of seven men, who have continued as 
a distinct order in the Church down to our own day, 
though the dark picture of human depravity, sketched 
from the sad realities of prophetic and apostolic days, is 
still but too faithful a delineation of the world, and even 
of the Church, in the present age. 

4. The proofs attesting the truth of this charge of disre- 
gard may be seen connected with cases but too plain in all 
their features and too painful in their delineation. The 
kind and affectionate father is arrested in his course of 
industry and usefulness by the call of his God, and "sets 
his house in order" for his departure to his long-sought 
rest. The thought of separation from the wife of his 
youth and the son of their mutual love, is painful to his 
heart ; but in the light of revelation he reads his title 
to a better inheritance, reminds his companion of the 
faithfulness of the Almighty and of the comfortable cir- 
cumstances under which she, as favored above many, will 
be left, breathes his dying benediction upon his lovely 
boy, too young to know its heavenly import, and sinks 
into the arms of his beloved Savior. The executor takes 



FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 



33 



charge of the estate. The weeping companion soon ex- 
changes the garments of her widowhood for the "robe 
washed in the blood of the Lamb," and commences the 
song of redemption with her sainted husband. The child 
of their love is sent to live with his relatives ; and as his 
mind expands, he hears what gives him pain — that his 
estate is being squandered by the executor or embezzled 
by his guardian, and, before he reaches the period of his 
majority, his heart is sickened by the sad truth, that even 
his father's watch has passed beyond his grasp forever, 
and his father's library graces the shelves of another. 
We have seen also the pensive widow brooding over the 
peculiarity of her condition, balancing the accounts of her 
husband, and feeling assurance that, if time were given, 
the property left by her companion would satisfy the 
demand of the creditors, and yet leave a comfortable 
'home for herself and her offspring. She hopes for pity. 
She thinks of that name which ought to shake the nerves 
of avarice itself, and says to the pressing creditor, "I am 
a widow;" but hears the cold reply, "I must have my 
due." She ventures, in trembling accents, to respond, 
"These children are without a father;" but, ere the 
answer comes, she reads in the expression of his coun- 
tenance, that the "house of the widow" will be "de- 
voured" and the "heritage of the fatherless" grasped by 
a hand which knows no release. The case is not altered, 
if we make the estate of the widow and the heirship of 
the fatherless to consist in a pledged support, guaranteed 
by a sense of common justice, and stipulated in the form- 
ularies of the Church of God, unless it be to enhance the 
value of their claim, in proportion as the united pledge of 
the wide-spread membership exceeds the credibility of the 
lone individual. Yet in our own Church, with a full 
acknowledgment of the justice of the claim blazoned to 
the eye of the world, with full knowledge and cordial 



34 



ADOPTION OF THE 



approval of the action of civil government in pensioning 
the maimed and the widows, and providing for the orphans 
of those who have sacrificed their lives in the service of 
their country, we still permit the widows of precious 
names, martyred to their work, to pine unsupported in 
their obscurity, and the fatherless children of those noble 
spirits, who blew the silver trumpet till it fell by their 
side, to rise in life without that culture to which they are 
justly entitled, and sometimes to wander away from the 
God of their father, under a painful sense of the injustice 
of the Church. In whatever light the action of the 
Church toward those who are emphatically her own wid- 
ows and orphans, who hold a right before God and man to 
lean on her for support in the days of their childhood, is 
viewed by individual members, all agree in admitting that 
the amount allowed in our form of Discipline is no larger 
than it should be to those who truly need the help of the 
Church; that, in these cases, no claim is better settled as 
to its justice; and, lastly, that even the claims of these, 
about whose right there is no difference of opinion, are 
paid off by the Church with an average of twenty cents on 
the dollar. 

III. That, in the defenseless condition of the claim- 
ants, the Almighty proclaims himself the father of 
the one and the judge of the other. 

1. The declaration which proclaims the Lord a father of 
the fatherless, in a special and peculiar sense, is not an 
empty sound. The word of God is abundantly pledged 
to the exercise of a care which shall speak the truth of 
their adoption, and give comfort to the dying father as he 
reads, "Leave thy fatherless children with me, and let thy 
widows trust in God." It can not be denied that the 
hopes inspired by the promise of God are often abund- 
antly realized in the past, that children left without 
friends, without means, and without much human encour- 



FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 



35 



agement, have arisen, by the dint of untiring effort, above 
the clouds of ignorance and poverty, and shone like stars 
in the firmament of science and of worth. In the halls 
of national council, on the bench of adjudication, and sur- 
rounded by the activities of commerce, we see the sons of 
the widow holding an honorable station, and often hear 
them refer to the obscurity of their origin and to the 
peculiar difficulties over which they triumphed in the 
providence of God. 

2. Though God, as a father, will not permit those left 
in destitution to be entire orphans, yet he does not deny the 
feeble and distressed the rigid to present before him their 
entire grievance. The kind, earthly father who permits 
the little one to stammer out his complaint, and, by words, 
and tears, and gestures, to make out fully the recital of 
his sorrow, is moved by the evident distress of one whose 
tears find a response in his own breast, and he at once 
supplies the loss while he promises to examine more fully 
the cause of complaint. God represents himself as being 
in his "holy habitation, " for the purpose of hearing 
every just complaint, and of redressing every real want; 
that, as children turn toward the seat of their father for the 
removal of doubt, and for the punishment of wrong, so 
may the fatherless bring their entire case before the 
holy One. They may come with trembling; they may 
scarcely think it their privilege to remind their heavenly 
Father of the defenseless nature of their case; they may 
not be aware of the extent of their own danger; or yet 
have felt the depth of their own loss ; but their whole 
being is a tongue to plead with God. The sigh that 
escapes their heart, as they mark the kindly attentions 
bestowed upon other children by parents who delight to 
supply their wants ; the sinking they feel within them as 
they glance at the property to which they should have 
been the heirs ; the deep depression of their spirits at the 



36 



ADOPTION OF THE 



sight of better clothing and the sound of higher mental 
culture than they hare the power to attain, all plead with 
irresistible eloquence before the seat of the Eternal. The 
hearings of the youthful breast, convulsed with that tem- 
pest of emotion arising from the sight of a widowed 
mother worn by the pressure of care, and yet struggling 
with an energy which yields only to death, are seen by 
the eye of God, and fully approved by him who promised 
his blessing to filial obedience. But when youthful spirits, 
trained in the fear of God, and nurtured in submission to 
his law, present themselves before the Almighty under all 
the pressure peculiar to their condition, and venture to 
ask, Was our father thy servant? were those long years 
of toil and sacrifice acceptable to thee ? was our father's 
neglect of the means of family support in accordance with 
the nature and spirit of the Gospel? were the expres- 
sions of former attachment, so often made to the minister 
and his family, true? if so, why, 0, our Father, are we 
thus neglected ? whv is our mother left to struggle 
under a burden she can not bear, and we, once heirs to an 
estate, now left destitute and unpitied? — here all the feel- 
ings of Eternal compassion are roused into action, and 
God, from his holy place, answers, "I am your Father," 
and, " The hairs of your head are all numbered." The 
plea of the fatherless has prevailed, and the case of the 
widow comes up for adjustment. 

3. The tenderness of God's affection does not disqualify 
him for the office of a judge. He is the framer of the 
law, and has fully explained its bearings to all the parties. 
He has enforced the duty of becoming fully acquainted 
with the 'ride after which judgment will be rendered. 
Standing above the hopes and fears of earth, he can nei- 
ther be bribed nor forced from the path of truth. Inher- 
ently and eternally in love with the truth itself, he can 
not violate the rules he has laid down for the action of 



FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 



37 



others. When he takes his seat as a judge, it is in full 
view of his own declarations: "To execute the judgment 
of the fatherless and the widow;" "To relieve the father- 
less and the widow ;" and, " To turn the way of the wicked 
upside down;" "To judge the fatherless, and to plead for 
the widow;" " To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, 
that the man of the earth may oppress no more/' It is 
into a court so well qualified to render to all their due, 
that the widow is invited to come and make her plea. She 
speaks ; but not in the language of accusation. She opens 
her complaint; but it is in the bitterness of her soul. "I 
left the home of my youth at what I considered to be the 
call of thy providence, and went out, not knowing whither 
I went, but willing to share the toil, bear the privation, 
and live on the fare that might be assigned to my hus- 
band. I knew the promises of God, that they who leave 
'father and mother, brothers and sisters, houses and lands/ 
for Christ's sake, 'shall receive a hundred-fold more in 
this present time, [fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters, 
with persecutions,] and, in the world to come, life ever- 
lasting.' I was encouraged by the declaration so often 
made, that my husband, by 'sowing to the Church in 
spiritual things/ should never lack for the necessaries or 
conveniences of life. I heard the people say they would 
never forget us, and, in the deep feeling of my attachment 
to the cause of God, cheerfully entered the old log-cabin, 
with its open walls and leaking roof, and passed the long 
and dreary nights of winter with my little children, when 
I could not keep them from suffering with the cold or 
easily satisfy the cravings of their hunger. I cheered my 
husband, when his spirits sunk under the thought of our 
little estate becoming smaller every year ; and when he 
asked, 'What shall we do when the last is gone?' I replied 
in faith, 'The Lord will provide.' To his inquiry about 
myself and children, in case of his decease, I assured him 

4 



33 



ADOPTION OF THE 



the Church would not permit us to suffer. I forced a 
smile of welcome to visitors, when I knew not what to set 
before them, and denied myself, that they might eat and 
be satisfied. I cheerfully submitted to the labor and the 
loss of long removals, and the difficulty and the dread of 
forming new associations. I stood by the dying pillow of 
my departing husband, and smoothed his brow, and en- 
couraged his heart, as he fought the last battle. I heard 
his will, bequeathing his soul to God, and commending his 
wife and children to the care of the Church. He closed 
his eyes in death, and 'good men followed him to his 
burial, and made great lamentation over him.' I was 
commended by the minister to the care of God, and my 
children were presented at the throne of grace, and the 
congregation responded, Amen. I waited for the offer of 
kindness from some one of the numerous friends of my 
departed husband. The year closed, and I yielded the 
house to those to whom it of right belonged. I knew not 
where to go. I had no means to take me to the home of 
my youth ; and if I had, its inmates are gone to the 
grave. I ventured to inform some of those most attached 
to my husband, that I was in distress, and they gave me 
words of kindness and sympathy, but left me to pine away 
in my want. I thought of friends on other fields of my 
husband's labor who always received me with a smile, and 
ventured to solicit aid in getting to that more friendly 
place. In this I was gratified; and the good wishes of 
many accompanied me. But here I saw the fearful 
change. The revival had passed ; the spirit of the world 
had taken hold of many on whom I leaned in hope. I 
read my doom in the cold neglect with which I was re- 
ceived ; and when asked why I did not remain among the 
friends on our last field of labor, I could make no reply. 
And now I am here, in a small, rented cottage, toiling for 
the support and education of my children. I think of the 



FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 



39 



deficiencies of my husband's support during the years of 
his arduous toil, and feel a sense of the ingratitude and 
injustice that withheld from the laborer one- third of his 
due, and sigh at the thought that the patrimony of the 
widow has been wasted in paying the debts of the Church. 
I am without means. My children press heavily upon my 
heart, and I have no help but in God. Pity, 0, pity the 
widow, and judge the cause of the fatherless children !" 
The plea of the widow is before God, and it behooves the 
Church to make an honest defense, where seeming neglect 
is excusable, and an honest confession for positive injustice. 
Alas ! the defense is but ill prepared, and seems to pro- 
ceed without proper concert in counsel or union in action. 
A voice goes up to the Judge, "Our system is a voluntary 
system, and, therefore, no debt is incurred by withholding. 
The labor was performed and the sacrifices were made, as 
stated in the complaint; but they were made for God, and 
not for us, and they should look to heaven for their 
reward, and not expect to reap it all on earth.' ' Another 
is heard, " The claim is just, and we fully admit the con- 
struction of the law given by the Judge, that we should 
not 'muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the 
corn but we are poor. The claim upon us was one dol- 
lar a year to the member, and, under our peculiar circum- 
stances, we felt justified in compounding with our con- 
science at one-half the demand while the minister lived, 
and when he was dead no service was rendered, and 
justice urged no claim.' ' A third, feeling the lash of con- 
science, and dissatisfied with the defense as presented, ad- 
mits the right of the whole claim, but refers to the varied 
means in the hands of the Church to meet that claim ; 
the Book Concern, with almost one million of dollars 
invested, and the large amount which such an immense 
capital ought to produce ; the Chartered Fund, with its 
annual dividend ; and then the collections taken up in 



40 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



every society at the close of the conference year — all, all 
to be applied to this one purpose. Surely they must re- 
ceive their full amount, and we ought not to fall under the 
malediction of Heaven by breaking God's command in 
" giving to the rich." As the defense proceeds, a general 
murmur is heard from the whole Church, "Verily we are 
guilty." We admit the fact, that we are only " stewards 
of the manifold grace of God," and should have promptly 
met every draft presented by the great Proprietor. We 
received our ministers as God's messengers, and rejoiced 
in the success which attended their labors. We saw the 
seals of their ministry in our own families, and we own 
that much of the goods over which we are placed as stew- 
ards, is the legitimate result of the Gospel which they 
preached. The Church is silent, and the Judge pro- 
nounces, "I accept the confession of your sin, but 'bring 
forth fruits meet for repentance.' " "Remove no more 
the landmark of the widow, nor enter into the fields of 
the fatherless ; for their Redeemer is mighty ; he shall 
surely plead their cause with thee." 



SEEMOIn II. 

BY REV. FREDERICK MERRICK. 

THE GREAT COMMAXDMEXT. 

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy mind," Matthew iin, 37. 

Christ having delivered several parables, in which the 
Pharisees perceived he spoke of them, they were greatly 
enraged ; but fearing to lay hands on him, because of the 
multitude, who took him for a prophet, they took counsel 
how they might entangle him in his talk. They first pro- 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



41 



posed a political question respecting the propriety of pay- 
ing tribute to Caesar. It was artfully put ; but when they 
heard his answer, they marveled and left him, and went 
their way. The Sadducees then sought to involve him in 
a theological difficulty, by proposing an objection to the 
doctrine of the resurrection, founded upon the law of 
marriage. His answer so completely refuted the objec- 
tion, and so clearly established the Scriptural authority of 
the doctrine itself, that when the multitude heard it they 
were astonished at his teaching. But when the Pharisees 
had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they 
were gathered together. Then one of them, who was a 
lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 
"Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" 

In their classification of the precepts of the law, the 
Jews were accustomed to designate some as "light," oth- 
ers as "weighty;" some as "great," others as "little." 
The Talmud reckons them all at six hundred and thirteen, 
of which three hundred and sixty-five are negative, and 
the remaining two hundred and forty-eight affirmative. 
Which of them, from its importance, was entitled to the 
first place in the enumeration, was a question on which 
there existed a great diversity of opinion, some contending 
for one, and some for another. Christ, by a philosophy 
as profound in its conception as simple in its expression, 
resolves all of them into two: "Thou shalt love the Lor«L 
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." The 
former he declares to be "the first and great command- 
ment." 

It may be proper to remark, that though the terms 
heart, soul, and mind, to which St. Mark adds strength, 
may, together, convey a somewhat fuller meaning than 
either would if used alone, are not, probably, so much 
intended to convey different ideas as to give force to the 

4* 



42 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



precept by a reiteration of words of similar import, a 
usage by no means uncommon in the sacred writings. 

Let us inquire what it is to love God as required in the 
text; whether a compliance with the command is practi- 
cable ; and why it should be obeyed. 

I. The nature of the command. 

Love, which consists of a pleasurable emotion and de- 
sire, is excited by the contemplation of an agreeable ob- 
ject; while hatred is excited by the contemplation of an 
object of an opposite character. Objects which are nei- 
ther agreeable nor disagreeable are regarded with indiffer- 
ence, so far as the affections are concerned ; and of those 
which move the affections, all do not move them in an 
equal degree. There may exist in the same object quali- 
ties both agreeable and disagreeable, exciting love or 
hatred as the mind is directed to the one class or the 
other. It is also well known that the same qualities do 
not affect all alike ; what is agreeable to one being dis- 
agreeable to another; and, especially does this hold true 
of objects of a moral and religious character. 

To love God, therefore, with all the heart, there must 
be nothing in his character, as revealed in his word and in 
his works, which is not to us agreeable in the highest pos- 
sible degree. Most unqualifiedly must we approve of all 
that he is, and of all that he does; and while the mind 
dwells upon the perfections of his character, the heart 
must pour forth the richest treasures of its love, allowing 
him to sit enthroned in its affections, "the chiefest among 
ten thousand.' ' 

In order further to elucidate the subject, let us notice 
briefly some of the states of mind more or less intimately 
connected with the exercise of the affections required in 
the text. Of those who love God with all the heart it 
may be said that, 

1. All their desires center in God. Every wish which 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



43 



does not lead to him is cheerfully resigned. There may- 
be other objects of desire, but they stand so related to 
God as to lead directly to him. And out of him they can 
not rest. Could they call the universe theirs, it would not 
satisfy their longings after God. " Whom," they exclaim, 
in the language of inspiration, "whom have I in heaven 
but thee? and there is none upon earth I desire besides 
thee." "As the hart panteth for the water brooks, so 
panteth my soul after thee, God." "My soul longeth 
after thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is." 

2. Their joys are all "in the Lord. 97 There is a delight 
and satisfaction experienced by those who love God with 
all the heart, arising from a contemplation of his char- 
acter and from a mystic union with him, which often rises 
into a joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. He is 
the immediate source of all their richest joys; and as 
from him "cometh down every good and perfect gift," 
they enjoy the blessings of life as the gifts of his hand ; 
so that they can truly say with the Psalmist, "All my 
springs are in thee." Of course, they neither find nor 
seek enjoyment in what God forbids. They are, therefore, 
no longer guilty of either of the two evils with which God 
charged his ancient people — that of forsaking him, the 
fountain of living waters, and of hewing them out cis- 
terns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. 

3. Their obedience is universal and cheerful. "If ye 
love me," says the Savior, "keep my commandments." 
Obedience is the fruit and evidence of love. Those we 
love we can not but desire to please, and as we know noth- 
ing is more pleasing to God than cheerful obedience, those 
who love him with all the heart, seek, in all things, to do 
his will; and this not of constraint, but willingly. His 
service is their delight. They rejoice in the opportunity 
of pleasing him, by keeping his commandments. There 
may be duties to be performed, from which their nature 



44 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



shrinks ; but they cheerfully make the sacrifice, that so 
they may please God. There may be crosses to be borne, 
but these they joyfully embrace as expressions of the Di- 
vine will ; to do which, under all circumstances, is as their 
meat and drink. They no longer desire to choose their 
own ways, but gladly make the will of God their only rule 
of life. With a sincere heart they can sing : 

" Thou seest, at last, I willing am, 

Where'er thou go'st, to follow thee; 
Myself in all things to deny ; 

Thine, wholly thine, to lire and die. 
My fond pursuits I all give o'er ; 

Thou, only thou, resolved to obey : 
My own in all things to resign, 

And know no other will but thine." 

4. They are resigned to all God does. He may afflict 
them, and afflict them deeply, still from the heart can they 
say, "Good is the will of the Lord;" "Even so, Father, 
for so it seemeth good in thy sight." They would not 
have it otherwise ; not because any affliction can, for the 
present, be joyous — it must, of necessity, be grievous ; but 
it is the will of God they should suffer ; and he who loves 
God with all the heart, desires, above all things else, that 
God's will should be done. There are those who submit 
to the providences of God simply because they can not 
resist them. They may profess to acquiesce in them, 
though in their hearts they regret their occurrence ; and 
were it permitted them, most gladly would they lay their 
hand upon the wheel of providence and reverse its move- 
ments. But not so they in whose hearts the love of God 
reigns supreme. In their deepest afflictions they can say, 
"Not my will, but thine be done." 

5. They fear no evil. "There is no fear in love, but 
perfect love casteth out fear." That which is feared, with 
a fear that "hath torment," can not be loved; therefore, 
"he that feareth is not made perfect in love." But those 
who love God with a perfect heart, see nothing in him to 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



46 



fear; none of his attributes are arrayed against them. It 
was not till his anger was turned aside, and they assured 
of his favor, that their love was made perfect. And as to 
evils from any other source, they rest in equal security. 
He who is for them is mightier than all their foes, and has 
not only promised that nothing shall harm them, but that 
all things shall work together for their good. 

6. Their love of created objects is not opposed to the love 
of God. This is not true of the love of forbidden objects, 
or of any inordinate love. All such love withdraws the 
heart from God. But they love only what God permits, 
and in the degree which he allows ; and such love in no 
way limits their love to him, but rather tends to increase 
it. Every particle of matter in a secondary planet is at- 
tracted by the primary around which it revolves ; but this 
does not diminish the force of the attraction by which it 
is held by the sun ; indeed, from the relation which the 
primary holds to the sun, this serves as another chain to 
bind still stronger the secondary to the great center around 
which both, in perfect harmony, revolve. Those who 
love God with all the heart, love all other objects as the 
creatures of God ; and as they 

"Look through nature up to nature's God," 
so their affections flow through the creature up to the 
Creator. 

7. They love their neighbor as themselves. He whose 
heart is not right toward his neighbor can not have his 
heart right toward God; "for he that loveth not his 
brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom 
he hath not seen? And this commandment we have from 
him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.'' 

Such is the state of his heart who obeys this first, this 
great command. Let us next inquire, 

II. Is OBEDIENCE PRACTICABLE? 

Can we love God with all the heart? That we are 



46 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



required to do so, is presumptive evidence that we can. 
God is not a hard master. He requires impossibilities of 
none. To command what can not be performed, and then 
punish for the unavoidable disobedience, would be man- 
ifestly unjust. 

But the subject demands a fuller investigation. None 
can doubt but that angels do thus love God, nor that 
Adam did before he fell, nor yet that the redeemed in 
heaven do, and will eternally. But can fallen man do it in 
this present state ? It is a well-known law of the affec- 
tions, that they are not under the immediate control of the 
will. We can not but love certain objects, when they are 
present to the mind, and hate others. To reverse the 
action of the affections, in this respect, by a simple voli- 
tion, is impossible. As well might we attempt to reverse 
any other law of the mind. Whether we love or hate an 
object, depends upon the relation existing between it and 
our minds — upon its agreeableness or disagreeableness. 
Now, it is an unquestionable fact, that the unrenewed do 
not find the contemplation of God in his true character 
agreeable. They may admire the exhibitions of his wis- 
dom and power, as seen in his works, but they find no 
pleasure in meditating upon his truthfulness, his holiness, 
or his justice. To think of God as he is, and as he stands 
related to them, renders them unhappy. They choose 
not, therefore, a knowledge of his ways. They banish the 
idea of him from their minds. "He is not in all their 
thoughts.' ' That they can not, therefore, love him while 
in this state is perfectly obvious. Still, that they are 
without excuse will be seen from what follows. 

But can the Christian whose heart has been renewed 
love God as required in the text? That the heart is not 
wholly sanctified at conversion, at least as a general thing, 
is most clearly proved from Scripture and experience. 
For a full and masterly discussion of this point I refer to 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



47 



Mr. Wesley's sermon on "Sin in Believers/' from which I 
quote the following passage : " There are, in every person, 
even after he is justified, two contrary principles — nature 
and grace — termed by St. Paul the flesh and the spirit. 
Hence, although babes in Christ are sanctified, it is only 
in part." Such surely do not love God with all the 
heart; nor can they, while in this state of grace. So far 
as the heart is unsanctified, its love to God must of neces- 
sity be imperfect. All his nature is radiant with holiness, 
and between holiness and sin there can be no affinity. 
The heart, just in proportion to the sin that dwells in it, 
must feel an aversion to God, and, in the same proportion, 
withhold its love. Before the Christian can love God 
with all his heart, his heart must be sanctified wholly. 
The question, therefore, resolves itself into this : May the 
Christian be thus sanctified in this life ? The settlement 
of this great question must depend upon the teachings of 
Scripture, though the testimony of reason and experience 
may be called in as collateral evidence. And "what saith 
the Scriptures ?" 

Let it be borne in mind that, while in an unrenewed 
state, man loves sin and hates holiness. This is the natu- 
ral movement of the affections; nor can he reverse it. 
He may be conscious of being bound, by the cords of love, 
to the foul idols of sin, and, under the influences of the 
Spirit, he may deplore it. Still, so unavailing are all his 
efforts to sunder these cords, in his extremity he is heard 
to cry out, "0, wretched man that I am! who shall de- 
liver me from the body of this death?" Till there is a 
radical change wrought in his heart, there can be no de- 
liverance. He must be "created anew" before he can 
love what he now hates, and hate what he now loves. 
The same holds true of the believer, so far as his heart 
remains unsanctified, and similar is his experience. Many 
are the clouds of darkness that often hover over his mind 



48 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



and fill his soul with fear and doubts. How often, too, in 
bitterness of spirit, he exclaims : 

" ? Tis worse than death my God to love, 
And not my God alone!" 

His affections are given in part to idols : 

"Nor can lie call them thence;" 
and he finds that this inordinate "love of the world" is 
incompatible with the "love of the Father." Two things 
must, therefore, be accomplished in him before he can 
keep the "great commandment." The bias of the heart 
toward " idols" or forbidden objects must be overcome, 
and a positive tendency given it toward holiness. This is 
what he can not do for himself, nor can it be done for him 
except by God alone. May he expect that God will per- 
form the work ? Let him turn and read these encouraging 
words: " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and 
ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness and from all 
your idols will I cleanse you;" "And the Lord thy God 
will circumcise thy heart and the heart of thy seed, to 
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy 
soul." Can he ask for a larger promise? Can it be en- 
larged? Here is a cleansing that makes "clean," not in 
part only, but from "all filthiness. " Here is a taking 
away of the "idols" of the heart; not of a part merely, 
but the promise is, "From all your idols will I cleanse 
you." And this is not all. The heart thus cleansed from 
sin — its affections withdrawn from forbidden objects — may 
be circumcised to love God — to love him "with all the 
heart and with all the soul." 

To him, then, who believes the promise, a compliance 
with the command is possible. For what is the com- 
mand? <; Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with ail thy soul, and with all thy mind." 
And what is the promise? "The Lord thy God will cir- 
cumcise thy heart, to love the Lord thy God with a]l thy 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



49 



heart and with all thy soul." Most obviously what is re- 
quired in the command God here promises to enable us to 
perform. But does presumptuous unbelief inquire 
whether he will fulfill his promise? "This is the confi- 
dence we have in him, that if we ask any thing according 
to his will he heareth us ; and if we know he hear us, 
whatsoever we ask we know we have the petitions that we 
desire of him;" "For he is faithful that promised;" 
"Faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us 
from all unrighteousness;" "If we believe not, yet he 
abideth faithful; he can not deny himself." That we ask 
in accordance with his will, when we present his own 
promise with a sincere desire for its fulfillment, there can 
be no doubt. But upon this point we have an express 
declaration of his will: "For this is his will, even your 
sanctification." That the entire work is here embraced, is 
manifest from the prayer of the apostle which immedi- 
ately follows: "And the very God of peace sanctify you 
wholly" And that the work may be accomplished be- 
fore death, is proved by the petition with which he con- 
cludes the prayer: "And I pray God your whole spirit, 
and soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming 
of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

The Scriptures do, therefore, teach that man may be 
sanctified wholly in this life. And why should this be 
"thought a thing incredible?" "Is any thing too hard 
for the Lord?" And does not this work magnify the 
riches of his grace? And is not the Christian, whose 
heart is cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, 
better prepared to do his will ? 

To this, also, has agreed the experience of many be- 
lievers in, perhaps, all ages. There have not been want- 
ing those who could say, from personal experience, "The 
blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin," 
and who could, therefore, add, " His love is perfected in us." 

5 



50 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



III. Why should the command be obeyed ? 

1 . Because it is a command of God. He has a right to 
command, and we are under the strongest possible obliga- 
tions to obey. Let none forget this. God commands us 
to love him "with all the heart." We can not withhold 
any part of our affections, and be guiltless. 

2. He is infinitely iv or thy of being thus loved. He is the 
center of all moral excellency. In him dwells every pos- 
sible perfection. He is "the chiefest among ten thou- 
sand;" yea, "he is altogether lovely." 

3. (< Because he first loved us;" and so loved us, as to 
give his Son to die for us. If love should beget love, then 
should his love to us secure our undivided hearts ; for who 
can tell the depths of his love for our sinful race? "For, 
instead of love, simple, and bending itself, without diffi- 
culty, to the happiness of its object, it was a love which, 
ere it could reach the guilty being it groaned after, had to 
force the barriers of a necessity which, to all human ap- 
pearance, was insuperable. The law ; the mountain of 
these iniquities that separated us from God ; the high and 
holy characteristics of that Being who is unchangeable, 
stood in its way ; and the mystery which angels desired to 
look into was, how the Eternal, who sits on heaven's 
throne, could at once be a just God and the Savior. The 
love of God, with such an obstacle, and trying to get over 
it, is a higher exhibition than all his love which radiates 
from his throne on all the sinless angels." (Chalmers.) 

4. It will increase our usefulness. 1. Our example will 
tend to lead others into this highway of holiness — the 
way of perfect love, which is eminently a way of great 
peace, and of joy unspeakable. How many, through our 
example, might be brought into this good and right way ? 
2. Our personal influence will be greater, because of the 
consistency of our lives, and the exhibition of our heavenly- 
mindedness. 3. It will prompt us to greater activity in 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



51 



the discharge of duty. When "love drives our chariot- 
wheels," we make good speed. The pure spirits who 
dwell before the throne, and whose hearts burn with 
angelic love, "rest not day nor night." 

5. It will promote our present and future good. 1. Our 
highest enjoyments spring from love. The emotional ele- 
ment of this passion is always pleasurable. To love is to 
be happy, though the degree of happiness depends upon 
the nature of the object and the intensity of the affection. 
But love consists also of desire ; and the gratification of 
desire is likewise a source of enjoyment. He who loves 
God desires union with him. As the hart panteth after 
the water brooks, so panteth his soul after God ; and the 
more ardent his love, the more intense his desire, while, 
at the same time, the more intimate is the union into 
which God receives him. 2. God will love us the more, 
and confer upon us additional favors. Among the disci- 
ples there was probably no other one who loved the Savior 
as ardently as John ; and he was "the disciple whom Jesus 
loved," and whom he permitted to lean upon his bosom at 
the last supper, and to whom he revealed himself in holy 
vision on the isle at Patmos. 3. It will greatly aid us in 
the regulation of the affections with reference to other 
objects, and exert a most beneficial influence upon the 
understanding. 4. It will render the performance of duty 
more easy and pleasant. It will make Christ's yoke easy 
and his burden light. God's " commandments are not 
grievous" to those who love him with all their heart ; but 
the doing of them is as their meat and drink. 5. As it 
will lead us to do more for the glory of God, it will 
increase our eternal reward. 

I have thus endeavored to explain what it is to love 
God with all the heart; to show that, by availing our- 
selves of the gracious aids which God is ever ready to 
vouchsafe, we may thus love him; and to urge, very 



b2 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



briefly, some of the considerations and reasons why we 
should do it. 

In conclusion, let me inquire, who of us are keeping 
this command? There may be none of my readers who are 
willing to acknowledge that they have no love to God ; but 
may there not be such ? Remember you are liable to be 
deceived. God himself declares the heart to be deceitful 
above all things. Examine it carefully. How is it affected 
by a contemplation of God ? When you think of him as a 
God of infinite holiness and justice, as a sin-avenging 
God, as well as a God of benevolence and a rewarder of 
the righteous, is your heart drawn out in love to him? 
Do you long for union and communion with him? Do 
you rejoice in the privilege of denying yourself that you 
may please him ? If a stranger to such an experience, 
then are you a stranger to the love of God. You are 
living in the constant violation of this first and great com- 
mandment ; and while you are violating this, you are 
"guilty of all;" for he who does not love God can not 
love his neighbor; and these two duties embrace "all the 
law and the prophets." 0, how must your guilt be in- 
creasing ! How must you be treasuring up wrath against 
the day of wrath ! No longer refuse to love him who has 
so loved you, lest his wrath be kindled against you, 
and you perish from the way. 0, beware ! Remember 
with whom you have to do. Though God bears long 
with you and is kind, still his forbearance has its bounds. 
He will recompense vengeance upon those who continue 
his enemies. But why must the "terrors of the Lord" be 
urged to induce you to keep this reasonable command? 
Can you resist the appeals of his love? "God is love," 
and he loves you as no other being in the universe can. 
" Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down 
his life for his friends;" "But God commended his love to 
us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." 



THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. 



53 



Others of my readers may love God, but not with all 
the heart. And why do you withhold a part of your 
affections? Is God unworthy of being loved as he 
requires? or do your interests or the interests of others 
forbid it? Can any good reason be assigned why he 
should not rule supreme in every heart ? I appeal to you, 
my Christian brother : ought you not to love God with 
all your heart? Let this question be definitely settled, 
and settled at once. And surely you can come to no 
other conclusion than that you ought to do it. Then will 
you do it ? Need I wait for a reply ? Is it still an unset- 
tled point with you, whether God shall be obeyed or dis- 
obeyed ? And does he not now command you thus to love 
him ? Can you refuse to do it, and not violate as positive 
a precept as the Bible contains ? Alas ! that we should 
plead for our idols, as if they were necessary to our hap- 
piness, and withhold our affections from Him, whom to 
love is "joy unspeakable and full of glory/' 

But, perhaps I address some who are anxious to re- 
nounce the last idol, and give to God their undivided 
heart ; but while to will is present with them, how to per- 
form they find not. You may be trying to love God with 
all your heart, while it is sanctified but in part. That 
can not be. It must first be cleansed. And this is God's 
work. True, you must give it up to him; but he alone 
can make it clean. And he will be inquired of to do this 
thing for you. Wilt thou, then, be made whole ? If so, 
approach the mercy-seat and plead the promise, "Then 
will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be 
clean ; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will 
I cleanse you." Do you believe this promise? Let this 
point be settled in your mind. Is God true and faithful? 
Or will he deny himself? Dare not to doubt, for to 
doubt is to sin. Believe ! God can not lie. What he 
has promised he will perform. Take hold of his promise. 

5* 



54 



PRESENT SUFFERINGS AND 



Plead the merits of your adorable Redeemer. Dictate 
not how the work shall be wrought ; only ask that it may 
be done. Let patience have its perfect work while still 
you plead. Lay all upon the altar, and as you agonize 
before the throne, believe, and it shall "be unto thee even 
as thou wilt." 

And now unto Him who hath washed us in his own 
blood, be honor, dominion, and power, world without end ! 



SEEMON III. 

BY REY. JAMES L. GROVER. 

PRESENT SUFFERINGS AND FUTURE GLORY. 

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy 
to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us," Rom. Ym, 18. 

The first point of illustration suggested in the text, is 
the 6C sufferings of this 'present time." By this expression 
must be understood the various afflictions, and sorrows, 
and trials of the present life. These tribulations and suf- 
ferings have been entailed upon us in consequence of 
original sin. They are portions of the original curse from 
which we shall never be released in the present world. 
Whether we are righteous or wicked, we must still feel 
the effects of that act of disobedience, on the part of our 
first parents, which "brought death into our world with 
all our woes." "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in 
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 1 ' 
"Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of 
trouble " His flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul 
within him shall mourn.' ' Where is the heart that has 
not been riven with anguish? Where is the home that 
has not been rendered desolate by death ? Where is the 



FUTURE GLORY. 



55 



eye that has not been filled with the tears of sadness? 
Look out upon the world in all directions ; survey the 
varied scenes of human life, and you will find the history 
of earth, like the prophet's roll, "written within and with- 
out with lamentation, and mourning, and woe." In addi- 
tion to those common afflictions, of which all are par- 
takers, the follower of Christ has some peculiar trials to 
which the man of the world is a stranger. That there 
are trials peculiar to the Christian, in this life, is plainly 
asserted in the Bible. "Many are the afflictions of the 
righteous." Moses, it is said, chose rather to suffer afflic- 
tion with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of 
sin for a season. The offense of the cross has not yet 
ceased, and, indeed, it will not cease, till the world shall 
be renovated by divine grace. The storm of bloody per- 
secution, with its fires, and racks, and tortures, may long 
since have passed away ; but it is still a standing truth, 
that those who will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer 
persecution. The finger of scorn will be pointed at them, 
and they will become the jest of the foolish and wicked. 
That this is the case, is not only confirmed by observation, 
and the word of God, but the reason of its being so is ex- 
plained by Jesus Christ. "Ye are not of the world," says 
he, "for then the world would love its own; but because 
ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the 
world, therefore, the world hateth you." 

With reference to the sufferings of the present time, so 
far as the Christian is concerned, I make the three follow- 
ing remarks : 

In thej^r^ place, the follower of Christ has the promise 
of grace to sustain him in all the afflictions and trials of 
life. While the man of the world is left single-handed 
and alone to contend with the buffetings of Satan and the 
infirmities and afflictions that surround him, the promise 
to the Christian is, "My grace shall be sufficient." He 



56 



PRESENT SUFFERINGS AND 



will temper the wind to the shorn lamb. You have a 
merciful and faithful High Priest, who is touched with the 
feeling of your infirmities. He is no stranger to the sor- 
rows and afflictions of life ; for in the days of his incarna- 
tion he leaned upon the staff of suffering till it pierced his 
hands, his feet, his side. He will not suffer you to be 
tempted above what you are able to bear. The furnace 
of affliction will never be heated beyond your power of 
endurance. In the darkest hours of conflict and suffering 
the Christian will hear the voice of the good Shepherd, 
"Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I 
am thy God." While he is thus comforted and sustained, 
he will realize that 

"Labor is rest, and pain is sweet, 
If thou, my God, art near." 

In the second place, when suffering the afflictions of the 
present time, the Christian is assured that they will all be 
sanctified to his good. They are intended to bring him 
nearer the Savior in this life, and to work for him a far 
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory in the world 
to come. That these results will be produced by the 
"sufferings of this present time/' we learn from the posi- 
tive teachings of the word of God. " Tribulation worketh 
patience, and patience experience, and experience hope." 
Here you perceive that the virtues and gTaces of the 
Christian are matured and perfected in consequence of the 
tribulations of the present life. And with reference to 
their influence upon the Christian in the future world, it 
is said by the apostle "that the trial of your faith being 
much more precious than that of gold, which perisheth, 
though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, 
and glory, and honor, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 
If, then, the afflictions of this life are intended to strengthen 
and mature the graces of the Christian, to purify his heart, 
and elevate hrs affections, and secure to him everlasting 



FUTURE GLORY. 



57 



life in heaven, surely, when pressed beneath the weight 
of care and affliction, as the cart beneath the weighty 
sheaves, he should glory in his infirmities, that the power 
of Christ may rest upon him. 

In the third place, the afflictions of the Christian are 
confined to the present life, and, of course, will soon term- 
inate. This fact is suggested in the language of the 
text. The apostle speaks of them as the "sufferings of 
this present time;" that is, the present mode of existence. 
Death will soon wind up for you and for me the history 
of our joys and sorrows, so far as the present life is con- 
cerned. How rapid is the journey from the cradle to the 
grave ! Time, in its noiseless flight, is rapidly bearing us 
away ! While it is a solemn truth, on the one hand, that 
death will soon put an end to all the good that the wicked 
will ever enjoy, it is equally true, on the ©ther hand, that 
death will put an end to all the evil that the righteous 
will ever suffer. The afflictions of the righteous are of* 
but momentary duration ; they will continue but for a sea- 
son. What, then, are threescore years and ten of suffer- 
ing and conflict, compared with an eternity of joy in the 
world to come? The sufferings of this present time, it 
must not be forgotten, are always attended with mitigating 
circumstances. You never saw an example of suffering 
so extreme but might have been augmented. Indeed, to 
the Christian there is far more of pleasure than pain, of 
joy than of sorrow, in the present world. But however 
mixed the cup of happiness may be, in this life, there will 
be no admixture of evil in the cup of the believer's hap- 
piness in heaven. No sigh of sorrow will ever be wafted 
on the breezes of glory ; no tear of sadness will ever be 
seen in heaven ; there, no bosom will ever swell with an- 
guish ; no wave of trouble will ever roll across our peace- 
ful breast. Surely, then, we need no further illustration 
of the fact, that the "sufferings of this present time are 



58 



PRESENT SUFFERINGS AND 



not worthy to be compared with the joys of heaven." 
There is no proportion between them. The proportion is 
less than between the smallest particle of sand on the 
ocean shore and the mighty globe we inhabit. "The suf- 
ferings of the present time" are momentary, while, on the 
other hand, the joys of heaven are unending. "The suf- 
ferings of the present time" are always attended with miti- 
gating circumstances ; in every case they might be in- 
creased ; while, on the other hand, the joys of heaven 
will be pure, unalloyed, perfect; joy without sorrow; 
pleasure without pain; health without sickness; life with- 
out death. Such, then, are some of the "sufferings of 
the present time," and such the sources of consolation to 
the Christian, when called to endure those sufferings and 
trials. 

In the second place, our attention is directed in the 
text to the "glory that shall be revealed in us." And, first, 
% glorious change will take place in these bodies of ours. 
Our bodies have undergone a great change since they 
came from the Creator's hand. The body was not origin- 
ally subject to disease, or infirmity, or death. If the 
body did not originally contain in itself the elements of 
immortality, yet, by having uninterrupted access to the 
"tree of life," its existence would have been perpetuated 
forever. But in consequence of original sin, our bodies 
have been made subject to disease, and suffering, and 
death. The decree has gone forth, " Dust thou art, and 
unto dust shalt thou return." But at the last day, in the 
morning of the resurrection, our bodies will be raised in 
incorruption, and beauty, and glory. With reference to 
the resurrected body the apostle says, "It is sown in cor- 
ruption, it shall be raised in incorruption: it is sown in 
dishonor, it shall be raised in glory: it is sown in weak- 
ness, it shall be raised in power: it is sown a natural 
body, it shall be raised a spiritual body." It is here 



FUTURE GLORY. 



59 



claimed, I am aware, that the apostle denies the doctrine 
of the resurrection of the body. It is insisted that he 
teaches that our bodies will be spirits, and that being the 
case, the material body will be forever lost in the grave. 
It is worthy of especial remark, that the apostle does not 
say that our bodies will become S2nrits, but spiritual. 
When, then, may a body be said to be spiritual? A 
body may be said to be spiritual, when it resembles a 
spirit in some important particulars. In what important 
particulars will our bodies be made to resemble spirits ? 
They will resemble spirits in this, that they will no more 
be subject to infirmity, or corruption, or death. They 
will be so refined and purified by the power of God, that, 
like spirits, they will never need rest, or food, or sleep 
to restore and preserve their powers and energies. The 
gross materials entering into the composition of these 
bodies will be thrown off, for "flesh and blood can not in- 
herit the kingdom of heaven." In every congregation in 
this world, you see the marks of infirmity and age. With 
some the silver cord is loosening, and the golden bowl is 
breaking; the almond-tree begins to flourish; those that 
look out of the windows are darkened ; the grinders cease 
because they are few; the strong men bow themselves, 
and the daughters of music are brought low. But in 
heaven it will not be so. Among all the countless multi- 
tudes who will stand redeemed and blood-washed upon 
the mount of God, and through all the endless ages of 
eternity, there will be no trembling limbs, nor furrowed 
cheeks, nor palpitating hearts, nor heads blossoming to 
the grave ; but in health, and youth, and beauty, our 
bodies shall live forever, the fit companions of glorified 
spirits, and with the velocity of thought may move and 
fly over the hills and plains of immortality, while above, 
and beneath, and around, and afar, and within, and with- 
out, all shall be heaven — pure, holy, and happy; "where, 



60 



PRESENT SUFFERINGS AND 



day without night, we shall feast in his sight, and all eter- 
nity employ in songs around the throne." 

In the second place, the glory of God will be revealed 
in the place prepared for the residence of his people. This 
is a beautiful world that we now inhabit. We can not 
look upon it, in its continents and islands ; its hills, and 
valleys, and plains, and fields, and forests ; its oceans, and 
rivers, and fountains, and streams ; its minerals, and fruits, 
and flowers ; the varied productions of air, and earth, and 
seas, without being led to admire the Hand that has 
spread these blessings around us in such rich profusion. 
But this earth is not to be the final abode of man. The 
curse of God rests upon it in consequence of sin. Much 
of its original beauty has faded away. Though well 
adapted to the wants and condition of man, in this life, it 
would not be adapted to his wants and condition in the 
future world. Hence, Jesus Christ has gone to "prepare 
a place" for us. He has fitted up for his people a glori- 
ous home, where there shall be nothing to hurt or destroy. 
And with the idea of heaven we associate every thing 
beautiful and brilliant, every thing sweet and melodious — 
where there are trees of life, and pastures green, and 
peaceful bowers, and crystal fountains— every thing to 
meet our wants, and satisfy our desires forever and ever. 
There all tears shall be wiped from all faces. Sickness and 
sorrow, pain and death, will be felt and feared no more. 
There friends shall meet again who have loved ; and when 
we have been there as many millions of ages as there are 
stars in the firmament, or spears of grass on the green 
earth, multiplied by millions and millions more, heaven, 
with all its swelling joys, will spread out before us with 
infinite beauty and glory. 

" Our days of praise shall ne'er be past, 
'While life, or thought, or being lasts, 
Or immortality endures." 



FUTURE GLORY. 



01 



In the third place, the glory of God will be revealed in us 
in the enlargement of our intellectual 'powers and faculties, 
Here knowledge is acquired with care, and labor, and toil 
The mind, with all its powers, the memory, and judg- 
ment, and will, have suffered greatly from the fall. We 
are liable to a thousand mistakes and errors ; and, after the 
closest study and the most careful and diligent research, 
how little do we know of God, or of ourselves, or the 
world around us ! We find ourselves surrounded with 
mystery on every hand. We can not comprehend the 
most familiar truths of nature. "I have," said Isaac 
Newton, the great philosopher, "gathered a few diamonds 
from the shore of truth ; but the great ocean is still before 
me." Many are compelled to remain in comparative igno- 
rance, for the want of means or opportunity of acquiring 
useful knowledge. This will not be the case with the 
redeemed and glorified in heaven. There the energies of 
the mind will not be enfeebled by a body full of infirmity, 
and tending to corruption. There, in one hour, you will 
learn more of God and the realities of the future state, of 
things present and things to come, than could be learned 
in a lifetime in the present world. "Here we know in 
part, and we prophesy in part ; but when that which is 
perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done 
away." Here we see through a glass darkly; there we 
shall see face to face. With angel, and seraphim, and 
cherubim, and all the spirits of the just made perfect, we 
shall gaze with unclouded vision and with transports of 
delight upon the glorious perfections of the Godhead, as 
they are forever unfolding in the person of Jesus Christ. 
In heaven, the mind will be making endless progress in 
knowledge. The powers of the soul will be forever ex- 
panding and enlarging — taking in wider ranges of thought, 
and comprehending the most astonishing developments of 
truth ; so that in heaven we will be ready to say, with 

8 



62 PRESENT SUFFERINGS AND FUTURE GLORY. 



reference to the grandest discoveries of the human intellect 
in this world, "'Once I thought as a child; I spake as a 
child; I understood as a child;' but now I see as I am 
seen ; I know as I am known ; I now behold things in the 
light of eternity, where truth, without any admixture of 
error, is reflected from the great Source of light and joy, 
in whom are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." 

Lastly: the glory that is to be revealed in us will be 
manifested in the perfection of our moral nature. Without 
moral purity there would be no enjoyment in heaven. 
Xever do I desire to "see the king in his beauty, or be- 
hold the land that is afar off," without holiness of heart. 
Without moral purity, I would sigh for repose though sur- 
rounded with joys of the upper world ; I would hunt in 
vain for heaven amid the bowers of paradise. There 
must be an adaptation in our moral nature to the condition 
and the society of the pure and holy, or otherwise we 
would be utterly miserable in the kingdom of heaven. 

In this world how much of imperfection is mingled with 
our very best performances, our songs of praise, and acts 
of religious devotion ! How many improper and sinful 
thoughts will be suggested by surrounding circumstances 
or the devices of Satan ! What a constant effort does it 
require to keep our minds staid upon God ! But in 
heaven all traces of impurity will be forever removed. 
There will be nothing to divert our attention, or lead our 
affections away from God. He will be the great center of 
everv thought, and wish, and desire. With bodies re- 
newed by power divine, and souls refined and purified by 
the precious blood of Christ, "far from a world of grief 
and sin," where God himself will dwell with his people, 
and lead them forth to fountains of living water, we will 
live, and reign, and triumph forever. 

If such is to be the glorious position of those who suffer 
with Christ and for Christ, well may we adopt the lan- 



63 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



guage of the text, and say, "For I reckon that the suffer- 
ings of this present time are not worthy to be compared 
with the glory that shall be revealed in us." 



SEKMON IV. 

BY REV. JOHN W. WEAKLEY. 

THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH * 

"Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it," Matthew xvi, 18. 

The erection of every new Christian temple is a cause 
for rejoicing, and can never be regarded with indifference 
by the true friends of Christ. In it we see the expansion 
of benevolence, the outgoings of Divine love, the march 
of truth, the power of grace, and the victories of the Son 
of God. This gift, prepared and presented to the great 
Head of the Church to-day, teaches us this impressive 
and encouraging lesson : In it we learn that the vital 
principle of Christianity here is still alive, fresh, and vig- 
orous, and that its ivatchword is onward. 

As a profitable subject, on the present occasion, for 
meditation and improvement, we have selected the Scrip- 
ture we have just read. It will lead us to speak of the 
Church, its foundation and security. 

I. Then, we notice the fact that Christ has established a 
Church in the world. It does not enter into our present 
arrangements to detain you with a learned criticism upon 
the term Church. For our present purpose, it is sufficient 
to state that the Church of Christ is an assembly of true 
believers, united in affection, and pledged to walk and live 

* Preached at the dedication of Park-street Chapel, Cincinnati, December 
30, 1849. 



64 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



by the rules of their divine Master. Every society of true 
Christians is a Church, and is so denominated in the New 
Testament, while the whole body of the faithful through- 
out the world constitutes the general Church of Christ ; and 
it is in this enlarged sense the term is employed in the 
text. 

God has always had a Church ; the world has never 
been without one ; and whenever there ceases to be a 
Church, this must cease to be a world. True, the Church 
did not always have a " local habitation;" but whether it 
suffered with Abel, the first martyr, or journeyed with 
such men as Enoch, who walked with God and was not, 
or floated with Noah upon the waters of a deluge, or, with 
Abraham, erected an altar upon Mount Moriah, or, with 
the Hebrews, groaned in Egyptian bondage, or for forty 
years wandered in the wilderness, still there was a Church 
as really as when Solomon prayed in the Temple, " Arise, 
0, Lord God, into thy resting-place, thou and the ark of 
thy strength. Let thy priests, 0, Lord God, be clothed 
with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness;'" or. 
as when the sons of Korah sung, "Walk about Zion, and 
go round about her ; tell the towers thereof ; mark ye well 
her bulwarks ; consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to 
the generations following ; for this God is our God forever 
and ever; he will be our guide even unto death. " 

But this Church, with all its glory, was but the type of 
a better ; the shadow of good things to come ; a prepara- 
tion day; the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Pre- 
pare ye the way of the Lord." Hence, during the whole 
history of the Old Testament Christ was shadowed forth 
and predicted as the founder of the Church on better prin- 
ciples and under a new covenant. 

He came into the world, as foretold, and the long night 
of promise closed ; the clouds dispersed ; the morning 
dawned ; the moral sky cleared up ; the day-spring from 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



65 



on high visited us; the light broke out; the Sun of right- 
eousness arose ; a bow of mercy arched the heavens, and, 
from it, heralding angels cried out, "On earth peace, and 
good-will toward men;" and the voice of the prophet's 
harp, coming down over the waste of ages, proclaimed, 
"He is the light of the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. 
Arise and shine ; for thy light is come, and the glory of 
the Lord is risen upon thee." 

He came into the world. The substance of the shadows 
of four thousand years, and the realization of all former 
dispensations, and the Jewish ritual, the law of ceremo- 
nies, with its altars and fires, bleeding victims, smoking 
incense, and sin-offerings, terminated in him forever, who, 
now once in the end of the world, appeared, to put aw^ay 
sin, not by the blood of bulls, and goats, and calves, and 
the ashes of a heifer, but by his own blood, and, through 
the eternal Spirit, offered himself, without spot, to God as 
a sacrifice ; and thus, by one offering, he has perfected 
forever them that are sanctified. 

He came into the ivorld, and the sound of trumpets 
ceased ; devouring fire issued no longer out of smoking 
Sinai ; justice thundered terribly and hopelessly no more ; 
the voice of the insulted law was hushed in the streaming 
blood of our Immanuel, God, who thus opened up a new 
and living way, so that, without altars, and sacrificial vic- 
tims, and sprinkling priests, we may draw nigh to God 
through, him, the great propitiation, the world's sin-offer- 
ing, and, by faith in his name, obtain remission of sin, 
sanctification, and heaven; for he is the end of the law 
for righteousness to every one that belie veth. Thus, on 
better principles, he organized the Church, revealed God 
as occupying terms of mercy, as in him reconciling the 
world unto himself, and proclaiming that he who, under 
the Christian dispensation, believeth, shall be saved; and 
that now "the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let 

6* 



66 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst 
come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life 
freely ;" that is, avail himself of the great Gospel pro- 
visions, namely, pardon, sanctification, and eternal re- 
demption. Here, then, a door of mercy — a door wide as 
the world — is opened up, not on Sinai, but on Calvary, to 
which we are invited to come, without money and with- 
out price, poor bankrupts as we are, and enter and seek 
supplies, and drive our wants away. But the text sug- 
gests for our consideration, 

II. The foundation of the Church. "Upon this rock I 
will build my Church." This has long been a vexed 
question between Romanists and Protestants ; and, without 
any intention to enter into the discussion which this pas- 
sage has provoked, which, on the present occasion, would 
neither be profitable to you nor pleasant to me, I will be 
permitted to remark, as I pass, 

1. If it be contended, as it is by Romanists, by the rock 
here, Christ meant Peter — not that they believe he is the 
real foundation of the Church, but that he is the founda- 
tion in this sense, as being exalted to supreme authority 
above all the other apostles ; that he was Christ's vicar- 
general on earth, absolute and infallible, and so his suc- 
cessors forever in the Romish hierarchy — if this be the 
sense contended for, we beg leave to enter our solemn 
protest; because, as the Scriptures elsewhere teach, he 
never had any such absolute authority above the other 
apostles ; nor did he ever claim it ; and as to his boasted 
infallibility, if ever conferred, it was but the creature of a 
day ; for, in a very short time afterward, he denied his 
Lord and Master with cursings and bitterness ; and subse- 
quently St. Paul, who says he was born out of due time, 
and one of the least of the apostles, informs us that he 
withstood Peter to the face, because he was to blame, re- 
proving him publicly, to which he submitted If this be 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



67 



the supremacy and infallibility of the successors of Peter, 
they are welcome to it; for we shall never enter the arena 
of strife to contend for so empty a thing. 

2. But once more : if it be contended, as it is by some 
Protestants, that by the rock Peter is meant in this mod- 
ified sense, namely, as a suitable person to whom Christ 
committed the keys of the Gospel kingdom, and thus con- 
ferred upon him special honor to open its doors both to 
Jews and Gentiles, to this we are not disposed to take any 
very serious exceptions ; for such is the fact. He did 
open the doors of the Church to the Jews and Gentiles : to 
the Jews on the day of Pentecost, when three thousand 
were converted under one sermon ; then to the Gentiles in 
the house of Cornelius. Thus it might possibly refer to 
him, as he laid the foundation of the Christian Church 
among the different nations, by first publishing the Gospel ; 
a foundation on which millions have built, and built safely, 
who have gone home and taken possession of that glorious 
inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not 
away, which he told the strangers, scattered throughout 
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, was 
reserved in heaven for them and all who were kept by the 
power of God, ready to be revealed at the last time. 

3. But again : if it be contended, as it is by others, that 
by the rock is meant the confession of faith which Peter 
had just made of the Messiahship and divinity of the Son 
of God — for it will be remembered that Jesus had just 
asked the disciples, "Whom do men say that I am? 
They reply, Some say that thou art John the Baptist, 
some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 
Then he said to them, But whom say ye that I am ? To 
which Peter replied, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the 
living God" — now, if the meaning is, upon this rock, this 
great truth which he had just confessed, namely, that 
Jesus was the Messiah ; that upon such faith in all men 



68 THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 

he would build his Church ; that such faith should be the 
test of piety, and that by such faith his Church should 
stand amid the flames of persecution and the fury of hell, 
we shall not demur much ; for faith in Christianity is a 
sine qua non. It is the foundation of every man's religion. 
It is the first essential element in every man's personal 
salvation. Without it, every thing else will avail us 
nothing, and we are lost ; but with it, destitute of every 
thing else, our salvation is certain. Thus Peter consid- 
ered it, and hence placed it at the foundation of Chris- 
tian character when he said, "Add to faith virtue, and to 
virtue knowledge," etc. In the days of the apostles a 
confession of the Messiahship of Christ was the great, dis- 
tinguishing mark between Christians and the world. The 
Jews, in their infidelity, stumbled at Christ, considered 
him an impostor, and put him to death, while the Greeks, 
in their vaunted wisdom, esteemed the preaching of Christ 
crucified foolishness, and, with the heathen world, still 
clung to their altars and their gods. Thus faith, in this 
sense, is a sure foundation, on which the individual and 
collective salvation of the Church stands, so that, as this 
faith obtains, the foundation of the Church consolidates, 
settles deeper, grows stronger, and spreads out wider, till 
the hopes of a perishing world, lighted up with immortal 
fires, shall rest upon it in perfect safety. 

4. Or if, in conclusion on this point, as many say, by 
the rock Christ himself is meant; that he is the rock, the 
foundation of the Church here spoken of, we shall cer- 
tainly interpose no objection ; for this will suit us very 
much ; especially as your speaker has always understood 
that upon this foundation rock, Christ Jesus^ he has built 
his hopes of eternal life; and because this view of the 
subject is supported by the Scriptures: " Behold I lay in 
Zion, for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious 
corner, a sure foundation, disallowed, indeed, of men, but 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



69 



chosen of God and precious. This stone the builders 
rejected; but it is become the head-stone of the corner." 
On this the Church is founded. Hence, says St. Paul, 
"We are built upon the foundation of the apostles 
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner- 
stone, in whom all the building, fitly framed together, 
groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord." Then who- 
ever first opened the doors of the Gospel kingdom, who- 
ever first confessed the Messiahship of Jesus, and what- 
ever relation such faith may bear to salvation, and what- 
ever agency the prophets and apostles may have had in 
founding the Church, so as to claim to be the foundation 
thereof, we ought not, we never will forget, that Jesus 
Christ himself is the chief corner-stone on which the 
massive structure of patriarchs, and prophets, and apos- 
tles, martyrs, confessors, and the saints of all ages, has 
rested, does now, and will forever, rest, till the top-stone 
shall be added with shoutings of grace ; grace unto it, and 
on, forever on, while Deity lives and eternity shall endure. 

(1.) But whatever this rock may mean, it does denote a 
firm and immovable foundation. The rocks from which 
the sacred writers drew their metaphors were immense 
masses, towering mountains of solid rock, which no power 
could ever move or dislodge. The custom of taking- 
refuge therein or building thereon was very common, and, 
in most cases, safe. Hence, Christ likens the wise man to 
one who built his house upon a rock, which, when the 
floods came, the winds blew, and the rain descended, fell 
not, because it was founded upon a rock, while the tem- 
pest and the desolating flood carried away the habitation 
of his neighbor, which was built upon the sand. Like the 
fastnesses of these everlasting rocks, which stand the 
fury of the wildest storms, and are still immovable, lifting 
up their rocky frameworks to the clouds, so the foundation 
of the Church here spoken of is solid, firm, and immovable, 



70 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



defying the engines of earth and the battering-rams of 
hell to unsettle or dislodge it. 

(2.) But again: whatever this rock may mean, it does 
denote strength — great power of resistance ; for rocks were 
resorted to as places of defense. When the Benjaminites 
were overcome, and almost exterminated by the other 
tribes, they secured themselves in the rock Rimmon. 
Sampson took refuge in the rock Etam, where he per- 
mitted himself to be dislodged by the persuasion of his 
friends, and not by the power of his enemies. There are 
no fortifications like rocks. Before the invention of gun- 
powder they were absolutely impregnable. What an 
immense idea of the strength and power of the Church is 
here presented ! As the habitation of a rock yielded to 
no resistance, so the refugees could scarcely or ever be 
taken from their strongholds ; so the habitation of the 
Church shall never yield to the attacks of men or the 
assaults of devils, while those who have taken refuge 
therein may in triumph cry out, "None are able to pluck 
us out of his hands," and that "neither death, nor life, 
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pres- 
ent, nor things to come, nor hights, nor depths, nor any 
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love 
of God, which is in Christ Jesus." 

(3.) But once more: whatever this rock may mean, it 
does denote durability. Bocks are permanent and lasting. 
They grow not weak with age, nor decay with time, but 
continue the same from one generation to another. The 
tooth of Time has gnawed down ten thousand monuments 
of art ; his rude hand has laid the pride and glory of a 
thousand kingdoms in the dust ; his steeds and chariot he 
has driven over the ruins of once populous cities, whose 
very location he has blotted out ; before his desolating 
march youth grows old, vigor enervates, beauty fades, em- 
pires decay and die ; but Mounts Hor and Horeb still stand ; 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



71 



and Sinai, rock-built, rock-ribbed, rock-capt, thunder- 
riven, storm-beaten Sinai, still lifts up its solitary form with 
the same awful grandeur that it did when God in majesty 
came down upon its quaking summit, and gave each ragged 
rock a mouth to speak his majesty in thunder-tones, or to 
flash upon awe-struck Israel the consuming fires of his 
justice. So the foundation of the Church is lasting. On 
its granite Time shall write no changes. His gnawing tooth 
and wasting hand shall work in vain. He shall never 
drive his steeds and chariot over its ruins. And when at 
last he shall have upheaved Sinai, melted the Alps and 
Appenines, still our foundation stone will remain ; for it is 
the rock of ages, without beginning of days or end of 
years ; and on it, the Church, lifting itself up, shall arise, 
till it reposes its broad capital amid the daylight of heaven. 
Here, then, we may build our hopes ; here we may build 
them in confidence ; here we may build them in safety ; 
and no where else ; for other foundation can no man lay 
than is laid, which is Christ Jesus. 

"Here is firm, footing; here is solid rock; 
This can sustain us; all is sea beside." 

This brings us to notice, 

III. The security of the Church, which Christ guaran- 
tees to us in the promise, ' 'The gates of hell shall not 
prevail against it." This promise, that the gates of hell, 
or hades, shall not "prevail against the Church, has been 
differently understood by commentators. As hades is the 
place of departed spirits, the gates of hell, or hades, has 
been understood to mean death. The promise is, then, 
understood to mean that the Church of Christ shall 
endure forever, from one generation to another, to the end 
of time — that death shall not so prevail against it that it 
shall ever cease to be. While we grant that this is a most 
cheering and important truth, that the Church will survive 
the ravages of death upon her membership, and that, 



72 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



while millions shall be taken from the fellowship of the 
saints below to the sanctuary on high, millions more will 
still remain in the Church militant, while the world shall 
stand. Important as this sense is, it does not well com- 
port with the imagery of the text. The idea suggested 
by the Church being built upon massiye foundation stones 
indicates its power to resist the assaults of war, like the 
strong fortresses of antiquity, built amid imperishable 
rocks, while the word to prevail indicates the application 
of violent force, as an assault of an enemy, to vanquish 
and subdue — a metaphor which can not well apply to 
express the slow and silent wastes of death. By hades, 
then, we may understand the region which is not only the 
receptacle of the wicked dead, but the abode of the devil 
and his angels, who are represented as having dominion 
there, and who issue out from this abyss to carry on their 
ravages among men, to oppose the doctrines of Christ, 
and disturb and harass the Church. The gates, here, is 
an allusion to a custom which prevailed in ancient cities. 
In the gates of these cities the sovereign and his chief 
men held their councils, and arranged the plans for peace 
or war. Gates, then, may mean councils, designs, machi- 
nations, evil purposes, while the obvious meaning of the 
whole passage is, that all the plots, stratagems, and 
machinations of all the enemies of the Church on earth or 
in hell, shall never triumph over it. 

The text clearly implies that the Church should meet 
with the most powerful and violent opposition, and its sub- 
sequent history confirms its truth. The infant Jesus was 
scarcely born till a council was held in the gates of hell, 
and an emissary, in the person of Herod, was dispatched 
on earth to put him to death. Defeated here, hell did not 
grow weary; that council did not adjourn its sessions; 
plot after plot was laid ; one stratagem after another was 
tried ; infernal ingenuity was put to the rack to thwart 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



73 



the purposes of God, and crush the hope of the world. 
The Jews, leagued with the devil, failed too. Then his 
Satanic majesty came on an express to earth himself, in 
the form of an angel of light, to seduce the Son of God ; 
but he failed. At last, however, they supposed they had 
succeeded. A mob seized him, tried him, condemned him. 
They hang him on the cross. Dogs gather round him. 
The assembly of the wicked encompass him. The bulls 
of Bashan roar upon him. He bowed his head, and died. 
The heavens were black. The earth was crazy. Hell 
shouted. They carried him to the sepulcher. All seemed 
lost! But hark ! on the morning of the third day, in that 
lone sepulcher, sealed with a Roman seal, and surrounded 
with a Roman guard, I hear the conflict of elements, the 
prancing of steeds, the rushing of armies, the sound of 
war. A battle is fought there, on the cold pavement of 
death ; and death, hell, and the grave are vanquished, 
and the Son of God, having spoiled principalities and 
powers, comes forth and makes a show of them openly. 
He died like a man, but arose like a God, triumphed, and 
went up with a shout, "All is well!" A cloud of angels 
received, him, escorting him home, crying, as they neared 
the eternal city, 4 * Lift up your heads, 0, ye gates, and be 
ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory 
may come in \" He entered, took his regal seat, while 
the voice of paternal Divinity proclaimed aloud, amid the 
prostrate hosts of heaven, " Thy throne, 0, God, is for- 
ever and ever ; sit thou here, until I make thine enemies 
thy footstool." 

Defeated here, in the gates of hell that council met 
again, and resolved that the Church He had thus pur- 
chased and planted in his blood and death-groans must be 
exterminated; but as they did not prevail against its 
glorious founder, so neither shall they prevail against it. 

1. They shall not prevail against its safety. This is 

7 



74 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



secured. If ever it was in peril, it was in her infancy, 
when all her members could meet in an upper room, and 
they poor, unlearned, and without power. But she passed 
through the rack, the gibbet, prisons, and fires ; and while, 
by their infernal tortures, many were transferred from 
earth to heaven, yet the foundation stood unhurt, and the 
living principle of Christianity was still instinct with life 
Thus, safe amid the warring of elements, the tumultuous 
rolling of the sea, the upheaving of the foundations of 
society, the revolutions of states, the rage of men, and 
the malice of devils, she is still alive and safe, at high 
noon of the nineteenth century. If, when the world was 
tilled with her defamation, her property confiscated, pris- 
ons glutted with her membership, racks and tortures in- 
vented, and fires kindled to exterminate her, it was found 
that confiscations could not scatter her, prisons could not 
hold her, fires could not burn her up, what shall we fear 
now ? for her security still is, " The gates of hell shall not 
prevail against her." 

2. But again: they shall not prevail against her prog- 
ress. The Church was not only to continue, but to con- 
tinue to accomplish her great designs on earth, in dissem- 
inating light, in reforming mankind, and revolutionizing 
society, till the kingdoms of this world should become the 
kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ. In preventing the 
accomplishment of this stupendous work, neither the strat- 
agems of men nor the machinations of devils should suc- 
ceed. These were tried ; for as the word of the Lord 
went forth from Jerusalem, and, as it went, startled the 
world by its wonder-working power, breaking down Juda- 
ism, converting thousands in a day, annihilating supersti- 
tions which had been consecrated by the petrifactions of 
ages, grinding into powder altars and idols, silencing 
oracles, and leading captive their deluded worshipers, the 
fiercest malignity of earth and hell was waked up to arrest 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



75 



this preaching of the cross, which was turning the world 
upside down. Jew and Greek, priest and magistrate, 
combined, and commenced a war of extermination. The 
Jew tried the Church by Moses and the prophets, and con- 
demned her. The Greek put her into the crucible of phi- 
losophy, and pronounced her foolishness. The magistrate, 
by the law, threw her into the wild beasts of Pagan 
Rome, and into the furnace heated seven times hotter 
than it is wont to be. But, blessed be God ! despite the 
Jew, she was still the Church, and God owned her; de- 
spite the Greek, the foolishness of preaching still saved 
them that believed ; and, despite the magistrate, she came 
forth from the lion's mouth, and no rent was made in her 
majestic drapery ; from the furnace, and the smell of fire 
was not found upon her robes. The storm beat her; the 
tempest rocked her ; the lightning scathed her ; but she 
made the storm her chariot, rode upon the tempest, and 
spread like the lightning. The statesman came with the 
law to shield her, poetry with its muse to sound her 
praise, philosophy with its intellect to exhibit her truth, 
and oratory with its eloquence to plead her cause. She 
put on the ermine of authority, walked in the palaces of 
kings, rode in the chariot of state, sat upon the throne of 
power, and gave laws to the world, so mightily grew the 
word of the Lord, and prevailed. 

But here she seemed to lose her power. Intoxicated 
with pleasure, made giddy with elevation, and forgetting 
her glorious calling, she gave herself up to luxury. Her 
light was obscured ; her piety waned ; she was shorn of 
her strength, and all seemed lost. A long, dark night 
came on. Amid this apostasy the Roman hierarchy arose; 
the mystery of iniquity worked ; the man of sin exalted 
himself above all that was called God, and sat in the tem- 
ple of God ; but He who planted the Church in his own 
blood, and declared that the gates of hell should not 



76 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



prevail against it, in this midnight of gloom, when the wild 
cry of rebellion was coming up from one end of the earth 
to the other, and the exhalations of vice and idolatry were 
ascending, like the smoke of the bottomless pit, and a 
world-wide groan of misery was going up from our 
wretched race, downtrodden by the beast, he said, as he 
did on the morning of creation, when darkness was on the 
face of the deep, "Let there be light; and there was light." 
The Church arose, like a new-made sun breaking upon the 
world, and the mystery of iniquity was made manifest. 
Luther and Melancthon, and their intrepid co-laborers, 
sounded the Gospel trumpet, and preached Jesus Christ 
and him crucified, the wisdom of God, and the power of 
God unto salvation. The man of sin trembled upon his 
thunder-riven throne ; the thunders of the Vatican were 
hushed, and the power of the beast was broken ; and, if 
we are not mistaken, the period then came to which proph- 
ecy refers when it says, " Thy sun shall go down no more ; 
neither shall thy moon withdraw herself; for the Lord 
God shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy 
mourning shall be ended;" for since then the Church has 
never stood still. Since the dawn of the Reformation, 
when the Sun of righteousness broke throuo-h the rent 
clouds upon our world, the light has been increasing, the 
waters have been rising, and our gallant ship Zion, with 
spread pennants, and sails swelled, has been coursing her 
way round the globe. Revival has succeeded revival, 
truth advanced step by step, surprising one stronghold 
after another, and storming new citadels in the enemy's 
territory, till Wesleyan Methodism arose, a little more 
than a century ago, since when the Church — without a 
figure — has been on fire — a magazine, a mighty battery, 
charged with heaven's own electricity, scattering more 
than earthquake power, while her legates, like mighty 
angels standing in the sun, having the everlasting Gospel 



SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



77 



to preach, have been crying to every nation, "Unto you 
is the word of this salvation sent." With these facts be- 
fore them, who dare say that the gates of hell have pre- 
vailed against the Church in her progress ? and as they 
have not against her progress, so 

3. Neither shall they prevail against her final and uni- 
versal conquest of the world. 0, if, when in her infancy, 
she was thrown upon the world a stranger, naked, hun- 
gry, and they would not help her, take her in, clothe or 
feed her, but, clamoring for her blood, pursued her with 
racks and gibbets, torches and crosses, prisons and death, 
still lived, though in tears, in caves and dens of the earth, 
and clefts of the rocks ; and not only lived, but grew and 
nourished, and has come down to us like a bride adorned 
for her husband, her cheeks mantled with the glow of 
health and youth, and her eye radiant with immortal life — 
0, if thus, in infancy, lonely, poor, without letters and 
powerless, she triumphed, fought these her hardest bat- 
tles, obtained these victories, has come up out of the wil- 
derness, and now occupies the high places of the earth, 
looking out upon the world already engarrisoned by her 
fortifications ; now that the arts and sciences are conse- 
crated at her shrines ; now that nature's noblemen, its 
most gifted sons and daughters, minister at her altars ; 
now that the power of the press is scattering her Bibles, 
like leaves of autumn, among the nations of the earth; 
now that her armies of light encompass the globe, and 
her cohorts shout victory from the plains of Hindostan to 
the valley of the Mississippi, and from the sepulchers of 
the patriarchs to the dwellers upon the coast of the Pa- 
cific ; now that the sun never goes down upon her tented 
hosts; now that she moves with steam-power, and talks 
with the lightning, shall she not triumph? — take the 
world and hang it up in the temple of God, on high, as a 
trophy of the cross? 

7* 



78 



THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 



Even while I speak, what is the aspect of things ? Not 
only is a continent but a world in motion, wading in blood 
after the rights of conscience and the light of salvation ; 
and while thrones are crumbling, monarchs falling* and 
all human things, like mighty ocean tossed, are in fearful 
commotion, the Church, too, is moving. On this glad 
morning, when the sun arose upon the palmy east, he 
heard a song of praise in honor of the great Creator. As 
he rolled onward, in his course, he heard that song re- 
peated from Ceylon, Bombay, Turkey, and Greece ; the 
African joined his voice, the European swelled the deep- 
toned anthem; and, as he crossed the Atlantic wave, 
America uttered forth, in all her length and breadth, the 
honors of Jehovah ; and when his last rays shall gild the 
lofty peaks of the Hawaii, the islands of the sea will clap 
their hands for joy, and the heavenly hosts join exultingly 
in the chorus, " Halleluiah ! the Lord God omnipotent 
reigneth !" He shall reign. Satan may be let loose for a 
little season, and shall go out to deceive the nations, which 
are in the four quarters of the earth, and Gog and Magog 
shall gather themselves to battle, and their number be as 
the sand of the sea ; and they shall go up on the breadth 
of the earth, and encompass the camp of the saints about, 
and the beloved city; yet fear not, all is safe. The gates 
of hell shall not prevail. Fire shall come down from God, 
out of heaven, and devour them. Then the field of bat- 
tle shall be clear, the enemy routed, not a hoof shall be 
left, the world redeemed and saved, and St. John's vision, 
with all its glory, opened. The holy city — the new Jeru- 
salem — shall come down from God out of heaven, and a 
great voice proclaim the tabernacle of God is with men ; 
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people ; 
and he shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and 
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, 
nor any more pain, for the former things are passed away 



LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



79 



SERMON V. 

BY REV. HENRY BAKER. 
LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 
"If a man die, shall lie live again?" Job xrv, 14. 
Job lived in Arabia, in an early age of the world, per- 
haps prior to the days of Abraham. Little was known, 
in his day, of divine things ; yet God was pleased to re- 
veal himself to individuals in various ways, and make 
known his mind and will. Among those thus highly 
favored, we may reckon Job, as one of the most eminent 
of his day for both piety and wisdom, being recognized 
by the Almighty as among the most eminently good, as 
Noah and Daniel, who were distinguished for their influ- 
ence with him in prayer. Also, God accepted Job's inter- 
cession in behalf of his mistaken friends, who, through 
ignorance, had sinned in charging him falsely with secret 
crime, as the procuring cause of his extraordinary afflic- 
tions. By experience and observation, Job had learned 
much of human life ; by meditation he had familiarized 
himself with death ; and by inspiration was permitted to 
look into the future. 

I. We have, in the context, human life vividly and 

IMPRESSIVELY PRESENTED. 

II. In THE TEXT, THE RECOGNITION OF DEATH AS AN EVENT 
CERTAIN TO ALL ; AND 

III. An inquiry in relation to the future. 

I. Let us contemplate briefly this picture of human life, 
as drawn by the pen of inspiration. It "is of few days," 
and those not only "days of trouble/' but "full of 
trouble"- — care, solicitude, disappointment, toil, fear, and 
suffering, constitute a large share of the history of the life 



so 



LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



Of man, and demonstrate that disappointment in pursuit 
dissatisfaction in enjoyment, and uncertainty in possession 
are characteristic of all earthly things. Life may be Ma 4 , 
tcring in its commencement, "cometh forth as the flower,' 
full of health, beauty, and promise, but mortality date: 
from birth. It is "cut down," perhaps in the cradle, and 
its beauties fade — "fleeth, also, as the shadow" upon 
the dial-plate, continually moving, and the fashion of it 
soon passeth away, and is lost in the shades of night. 
His days and months are numbered — "bounds" limited 
to "a hand-breadth" are appointed him, that he can not 
pass. Death, with all, will soon close this scene of com- 
motion and strife. In yiew of this, Job prays that God 
would "turn from him" those fearful calamities, till he 
should "accomplish, as a hireling, his day" of ordinary 
labor and care. "There is hope of a tree;" but man, 
when "cut down," is not like the yegetable, subject to 
the influence of rain and sun ; he will not be revived 
by any natural agents or process. The roots of the tree, 
when cut down, may "sprout again," and reproduce its 
kind. The waters may fall, the floods come, subside, 
evaporate, condense, and return again; but "man dieth 
and wasteth away ; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and 
where is he" to be found? When this ephemeral life ex- 
pires, "man lieth down, as the weary laborer, when the 
toils of the day are over, and from the night of the grave," 
the profound slumber of that dreamless bed, he shall not 
awake nor arise till the aerial and starry "heavens be no 
more." The sun, in all its effulgence, may shine upon 
his tomb, or the storms that wreck the wintery sky may 
beat upon it, but the unconscious dust shall sweetly re- 
pose, secure from all the mutations of a changeful world, 
its storms and its calms, its pleasures and its pains. " 0, 
that thou wouldst hide me in the grave !" Although the 
dark and lonely grave bo the earthly destiny of the good, 



LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



81 



it is a place of both rest and secrecy. And He who con- 
ceals will not only watch over and safely guard the sacred 
deposit, but will find and restore it again to renewed life, 
immortal beauty, and vigor. There is an appointed time, 
yea, a "set time," when he that remembered Noah will 
remember the pious dead. He will "call," and the call 
shall be responded to by all. He has, and forever will 
have a desire to the work of his own hands. He has the 
"keys of death and of hell," and in the end of time, 
when the heavens shall have passed away, He who is 
"the resurrection and the life," will awake and bring them 
forth; "yea, all that sleep in the dust of the earth shall 
awake and come forth." 

II. What is implied in dying? "If a man die, shall 
he live again?" Two changes, in the mode of man's ex- 
istence, are here contemplated : First. The material man 
returning to his parent element, dust; Secondly. Its re- 
suscitation to conscious existence. Inquire we, then, what 
is implied in dying? Death is a privation: consider it 

1 . As it affects the body : it implies the loss, 

(1.) Of the vital principle. Death sometimes does his 
work in a very summary manner, as in apoplexy, diseases 
of the heart, by electricity, and other fatal agents and 
casualties. In such cases, all the functions of life are so 
suddenly and profoundly impressed, as to be broken down 
at once. But, generally, it is a more gradual work ; the 
heart ceases to beat, the blood to circulate, the lungs to 
respire, and the brain to receive impressions ; the body 
loses its animal heat — is deprived of sensation and the 
power of motion; he "giveth up the ghost; the body 
without the spirit is dead." 

(2.) The conservative principle. When the silver cord 
is loosed, and the golden bowl broken, the vital principle 
is extinguished, the physical organization is dissolved, and 
conservative power is lost. Hence, there is an immediate 



82 



LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



and necessary tendency to decomposition and putrefaction. 
Such is the end of all flesh. It is corruptible, and must 
put on incorruption. The house of this tabernacle is 
earthly in its composition, earthly in its support, and 
earthly in its destination. Man is not only mortal in his 
earthly destiny, but from birth. We decay while we re- 
ceive support ; while we nourish the body we cherish the 
seeds of death. " Our strength is weakened in the way." 
We die daily. "The cradle rocks us to the tomb." 

The old, the middle-aged, and the young ; the decrepit, 
the deformed, and the beautiful; the feeble, the active, 
and the strong ; all, all must fall as the trees of the forest, 
the herbage of the mountains, and the flowers of the field. 
God hath declared it, and all flesh shall fail before him. 
'No strength can resist, no art can elude, no beauty can 
captivate, no wealth can bribe the "last enemy." Yes, 
my young friends, whatever of symmetry, beauty, agility, 
or strength you may now possess, a blight will fall upon it. 
Your strength is a thing of naught; your "beauty will 
consume away like the moth blasting and mildew will 
tarnish, and all your glory will "fade as a leaf." Thy 
body will soon become a mass of putrefaction, and emit 
the odor of rottenness and death. Idolize not mortality, 
it will soon be cut down ; worship not beauty, it will fade 
as a flower. The coral is passing from thy lips, and the 
tints are fading from thy cheeks. Insult not the poor car- 
cass by decorating it in vain and gaudy attire ; pamper 
it not, as it is falling into the tomb. Rather say to cor- 
ruption, "Thou art my father; and to the worm, thou art 
my mother and my sister. " 0, consider and be wise. 
"Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not 
live." 

2. As it affects his relation to earthly things — his inter- 
ests, business concerns, social and kindred ties. 

(1.) Death will close up the concern with him forever, 



LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



83 



and sever all the ligaments that may have bound him to 
•earth and time. He will cease to participate in the busy 
scenes of life, and share no longer in the things that are 
done under the sun. All his calculations and plans of 
operation to attain honor, wealth, or fame, in a moment 
are scattered to the winds. His interest in life ceases 
with his last expiration. His earthly wisdom and pru- 
dence, or his folly and improvidence, while here, may 
affect others, when he is gone, but not him. To him it 
will be the same, whether he died rich or poor, famed or 
" unknown to fame." 

(2.) It will be the disruption of all social and kindred 
ties that have allied him to earthly society and friends. 
It will be his farewell to earth, with all its possessions, as- 
sociations, and attractions. "His eye shall no more see 
good." Whether he be buried in obscurity, or with pomp 
and show; whether "lamented or unsung;" whether his 
mortal remains be deposited in a solitary grave, unadorned 
and unknown, or repose beneath the sculptured marble, it 
is naught to him. The eloquent orator may pronounce 
his eulogy, and a train of "mourners go about the streets," 
and lament the "illustrious dead;" or a solitary mourner, 
in penury and rags, weep over his lonely grave ; fame 
may blow his silver trumpet, or the pestiferous tongue of 
slander asperse his reputation ; all, all will pass unheeded 
by the unconscious clay. "His sons come to honor, and 
he knoweth it not : they are brought low, but he perceiv- 
eth it not of them." 

III. What is implied in living again? 

1. The soul surviving the death of the body andjson- 
tinuinp* in a state of conscious existence. Is the soul in- 

o 

deed deathless ? Shall it escape unscathed from its dis- 
solving tabernacle, and live in a state of conscious bliss or 
woe till the resurrection of the dead at the last day ? It 
can, it will. It is immortal, and can never cease to be. 



84 



LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



It will live coexistent with God, its author and preserver. 
This is proven 

(1.) From its essential nature — spiritual, immaterial. 
It partakes of the nature of angels, yea, of Deity himself. 
Death hath no dominion over it. It can not see corrup- 
tion. Although the operations or exercise of its powers 
and faculties may be embarrassed or obstructed by disease 
of the body, which is its medium of contact with external 
things, yet its essential nature and attributes can bid de- 
fiance to disease, and often shine most brilliantly in the 
agonies of dissolving mortality. The attributes of the 
soul, understanding, reason, judgment, and conscience, 
by which it apprehends itself, its relations, its character 
and condition, are too exalted and celestial for the limited 
range of earth and time. How vast its powers ! and they 
are ever active, whether the body be weary or at rest, 
sleeping or waking, living or dying. 

(2.) From its capability of enjoyment or suffering, in- 
dependent of the body. A sense of guilt, mental anguish 
or agony, or a consciousness of rectitude, peace and joy, 
realized in an intense degree, either by depressing or elat- 
ing the mind, often causes suffering mortality to forget its 
pains, and brings the soul into contact with the realities 
of the future. If such be the sensibilities of our spiritual 
nature, while clogged with the weight and stupidity of 
this mortal organization, how acute will they become when 
dislodged from this earthly prison ! 

(3.) From its capacity for improvement; commensurate 
with the highest finite intelligence, the purest pleasures, 
and endless duration. Contemplate those great lights of 
the intellectual and moral world — Bacon, Newton, Locke, 
and Milton ; a Luther, Wesley, Chalmers, Dick, and oth- 
ers. See them in their infancy, ignorant and imbecile ; 
but mark the development of intellect in their progressive 
career through life ! They rise and soar, shining like stars 



LITE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



85 



of the first magnitude, shedding abroad a luminous radi- 
ance upon earth's dark mass of matter and mind ; and yet, 
we suppose, an infant in immortality possesses more knowl- 
edge than they all, while their views were bounded by 
terrestrial things. Such is the progressive character of 
intellectual and moral natures. 

(4.) From its instinctive impressions and innate desires 
of immortality. Man lives in the future, ever looking and 
hoping for something he has not; his desires never reach 
a climax; Even in the enjoyment of his God, he presses 
onward and says, "I shall be satisfied when I awake in 
thy likeness." However dark and confused be the im- 
pressions of immortality upon the minds of benighted Pa- 
gans and hardened skeptics, they are universal in all ages 
and nations. 

(5.) From the manifest want of wisdom in the design 
of man's being, if he be not immortal. Why those vast 
powers, those desires and longings after immortality, if he 
be not designed to live in a future state ? The instincts 
of the brute animal enable him to eat, to drink, and to 
sleep ; to enjoy all the pleasures of sense ; but man's na- 
ture claims and demands higher, nobler enjoyments, such 
as the corporeal senses can not apprehend, nor animal 
instincts realize. 

(6.) Revelation demonstrates it. Here "life and im- 
mortality are brought to light." The rich man and Laz- 
arus were declared by the Son of God to exist in the 
spirit-world, after leaving their bodies on earth — one com- 
forted and the other tormented. Jehovah said, "I am the 
God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob," when they 
had been long dead. "He is not the God of the dead, but 
of the living." Paul and his companions believed there 
was an intermediate state, in which the soul existed inde- 
pendent of the body — "We are confident, I say, and will- 
ing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present 

8 



86 



LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



with the Lord." This he esteemed as "far better." The 
translation of Enoch and Elijah, body and soul, and the 
changing of those who remain and are alive at the coming 
of the Lord, prove that the existence of neither soul nor 
body is limited to the present state ; but that, in accord- 
ance with his impressions and desires, man will realize an 
immortal destiny, whether of weal or of woe. 

2. And what we presume Job had especial reference to 
in the text, the resuscitation of the same body that died 
to renewed life. Can this be? "Can these dry bones 
live?" Can this corruption, rottenness, and death, re- 
sume form, vitality, and beauty? Can it live to act, 
realize, enjoy, or suffer? "Shall he live again?" Yes, 
he can, he will, he shall — because 

(1.) God is able to raise him up. He that created can 
raise the dead ; he that gave life can restore it when lost. 
His power is commensurate with any work that does not 
contravene his purposes or designs, or conflict with his 
goodness, his wisdom, his justice, or his truth. 

(2.) The goodness of God requires it. The body, in 
connection with the soul, has capabilities of enjoyment — is 
allied to it by strong affinities and tender sympathies ; and 
to indulge these capabilities, and perpetuate those affinities 
and sympathies, would be the dictate of infinite goodness. 

(3.) The wisdom of God requires it. Were those bodies, 
which are the "temples of the Holy Ghost, fearfully and 
wonderfully made," to perish forever, it would argue folly 
in the design, or weakness in the execution of God's plan 
of securing the greatest possible good to man. 

(4.) The justice of God requires it. 1. Justice to him- 
self. The human body is his own, his own work, and, as 
well as the soul, was created in his own image, and for his 
own glory. It should be preserved as a monument of his 
handiwork, and employed in his service, to show forth his 
praise. 2. Justice to the good. Their bodies participated 



LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



87 



with their souls in the sufferings of the present life, and 
in the services here offered to God, and are entitled to 
a participation in its rewards. 3. Justice to the wicked. 
Their bodies, also, participated with their souls in sin, 
and, by their passions, appetites, and propensions, were 
often the occasions and instruments of crime, and should 
be partakers of its plagues. 

(5.) The truth of God requires it. " There shall be a 
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the un- 
just. For the hour is coming in the which all that are in 
their graves shall hear his voice, and come forth ; they 
that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they 
that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation. 
Behold, I show you a mystery : we shall not all sleep ; 
but we shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of 
an eye, at the last trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, 
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be 
changed ; for this corruption must put on incorruption, 
and this mortal must put on immortality/ ' 

In these and other Scriptures we have both the fact and 
the object of the resurrection positively and plainly stated. 
}. The fact: the dead body shall be raised and made im- 
mortal. 2. The object : that, in connection with the soul, it 
may be judged, and rewarded or punished ; and those 
who shall not "see death," but remain and are alive at 
his coming, shall, like Enoch and Elijah, undergo a 
change equivalent with death and the resurrection ; for this 
plain reason, that "flesh and blood," in its present gross 
and mortal state, "can not inherit the kingdom of God." 
These vile bodies of ours must be changed, and fashioned 
like unto the glorious resurrected body of the Son of God. 
"Then shall mortality be swallowed up of life." 

Reader, "thou shalt surely die !" Let us " stand still," 
and consider what awful and important thoughts are sug- 
gested by this solemn sentence. The last hours of this 



38 



LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



ephemeral life must come to all. We came into this 
world fallen beings, children of iniquity, and heirs of 
death. The moment is hastening when the untiring ano-el 
of death will summon us to our final account, to answer 
to the Judge of all for our conduct on earth. Do we 
observe the declining, the setting sun, sinking in darkness ? 
So passes and declines the day of life with all ; morning, 
noon, and night, and it is gone. Do we observe the 
shadow upon the dial-plate ? It is slow, but steady. By 
an imperceptible progress it passes over the fixed lines 
upon its shining disk. Soon will the last, lengthened, 
oblique rays of the setting sun pass the last line — the 
boundary -line of this brief existence — the terminus of our 
earthly journey. Our wasting periods move on with a 
silent pace, and, whether we are heedless of their motion 
or observant of their flight, will soon reach, with unerring 
certainty, their utmost limit. The revolving wheel of 
time, the ceaseless revolutions of the sun, moon, and 
planets, as they revolve in the sunlit or the dusky sky, 
are measuring out and bringing to a close the number 
of the months, the days, the hours of this "span of life." 
Do new periods of time and seasons regularly recur, as, 
the new year, month, week, or day ? Remember ! the 
birth of each new period is the death-knell of its prede- 
cessor. Thus, however joyous may be the approach of 
each new epoch in our history, it is saddened by the 
thought that its birth is but the funeral dirge of buried 
time. The annual return of our natal day is hailed with 
joy, and often observed with birthday festivities ; but, let 
us remember, its first office is to celebrate the obsequies 
of another finished year of expired time. Thus stealthily 
pass the days, the months, the } T ears of our appointed 
time on earth. "Time is short." Be wise; catch the 
flitting moments as they pass; husband them well; im- 
prove them and live. 0, the confident language of faith 



LIFE, DEATH, AND IMMORTALITY. 



39 



in the future! "Thou shalt call, and I will answer." 
That call will be, to the righteous, a call to renewed life 
and eternal rest. There is hope for the pious dead. It is 
this hope, the sheet-anchor of the soul, that sustains the 
Christian amid the conflicts and turmoils of life and its 
cares. Bathed in sweat and dust, he "bears the burden 
and heat of the day," awaiting the rest of the tomb, as 
the dawn of eternal bliss. 

This hope sustains the herald of the cross, and sus- ■ 
tained a Paul, "more abundant in labors," in daily and 
nightly sowing the seed of the kingdom, knowing that 
not in this world only he has hope, but that in due time he 
shall reap if he faint not; that his work is with the Lord, 
and his judgment with his God ; and that, hereafter, he 
"shall return with joy, bringing his sheaves with him." 

It is this "assurance of hope" that enables the be- 
reaved widow in her weeds, and the orphan in his tears, to 
look upon the humble monuments that perpetuate memo- 
ries sacredly cherished in their heart, and read in radiant 
characters engraven there, "I am the resurrection and the 
life: he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet 
shall he live." 

Conclusion : Reader, do you find yourself in a world 
of trouble, the subject of affliction, disappointment, and 
sorrow? Labor to improve all. 

1. By suffering, learn to exercise patience; from disap- 
pointment, learn wisdom ; and thus endeavor to realize a 
revenue from the "varied ills of life." Remember this is 
not your home. You are but a stranger and pilgrim upon 
earth. Here you have no continuing city. Let the scenes 
that daily surround you, in this life of vicissitudes and 
world of death, but prompt you to efforts in the great 
enterprise of securing a better and more enduring inher- 
itance. 

2. Whether old or young, you are but in the infancy of 

8* 



90 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 



jour existence, destined to an eternal world and a change- 
less mode of being. But, in passing to that world, you 
must die. Death's dark domain lies between you and it; 
and though death to the wicked be terrible, it need not be 
so to you. To the righteous, it is but passing from a state 
of suffering and conflict to a state of peace and rest. 
Through death the Christian traveler passes to his long- 
sought home. Here the weary find repose, the warrior a 
triumph, and the victor a crown. 



SERMON VI. 

BY REY. DAVID WARNOCK. 

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

"What must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house," Acts xvt, 30, 31. 

There is nothing more capable of an experimental 
knowledge of its truthfulness than Christianity. Men are 
invited to test its virtue and its power ; and if, after test- 
ing it according to the conditions laid down in the Gospel, 
they find it answers not their expectations and their 
wants, it will be time enough to condemn and disavow it. 
Who ever complied with those conditions and was not ena- 
bled to set to his seal that God was true? "If any man 
do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of 
God." The text is one of the most important questions 
ever propounded by man — one proposed by a sinner under 
deep and sudden alarm of conscience. There is nothing 
more reasonable to suppose than that the emotions of this 
man and the question extorted were from a sense of his sin 
and danger. To suppose that the apostle Paul was not 
better acquainted with the real cause of the alarm of this 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 91 

man than any other, living or dead, would be to judge of 
his capacity to fill the important office and elevated posi- 
tion which he occupied as very defective, if not an im- 
peachment of the wisdom of Him who called him to "open 
the eyes of the blind, and to turn man from darkness to 
light.' ' Or, if we consider the person asking the question, 
"What must I do to be saved ?" what ground had he to 
look for deliverance, in a temporal point of view, from 
men who were scourged and imprisoned for preaching 
" Christ and him crucified ?" None at all. Furthermore, 
there was no danger to be apprehended by him from the 
civil law after the apostle said unto him, "Do thyself no 
harm; we are all here." If the question of the jailer 
was not with reference to his spiritual and eternal interest, 
the apostle's answer is entirely out of place: "Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," etc. 
What more likely to endanger him temporally than so 
doing, when before him was the fact that, for preaching 
Christ, two eminent embassadors were then in suffering 
and in bonds. The apostle was too well versed in the 
knowledge of the human heart, and too infallibly instructed 
to err in the application of the Gospel promise in the text 
to a man whose alarm was not that of a true penitent; 
and the sequel confirms this belief. We shall, therefore, 
consider the text as setting forth two most important 
points: first, the question, "What must I do to be 
saved?" and secondly, the answer to the question pro- 
posed, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ," etc. 

I. "What must I do to be saved?" 

1 . This question is the most important ever uttered by 
man, taken in the light in which it is used by the passage 
under consideration — a deep conviction of danger growing 
out of his sinful heart and life. There is manifest danger 
to every truly-awakened conscience, known only to those 
"who have been brought from darkness to light, and from 



92 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 



the power of Satan unto God." How terrible the anguish 
of the royal Psalmist when he said he felt trouble and 
sorrow, and that "the pains of hell got hold upon him!" 
and that to sin is to offend the majesty of God, and that 
its wages is death eternal ! Surely there is danger, if, to 
atone for the sins of the world, no less victim was requi- 
site than the humiliation, sufferings, and death of Him who 
"thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Let 
every one who contemplates the sins of man as inferior 
and in no way endangering man's relation to God and 
heaven, contemplate sin, and especially his own personal 
offenses, as calling out, from the bosom of the Father, his 
"well-beloved Son," to humiliation, sorrow, and poverty, 
the anguish in the garden, the torture on the cross ; and 
while he views all this, let him remember, sin did all this ; 
and, if so, how fearful in its consequences is sin that re- 
quired such a sacrifice. Show me one who has never 
viewed his sin as endangering his interests, and I will show 
you one who never has received Jesus Christ so as to 
properly appreciate his character and office. 

2. The question in the text implies a conviction of igno- 
rance of the plan of salvation. Man is naturally ignorant 
of the plan by which God will save him. Hence, the 
question in the text, and the various differences of men as 
to the plan, show conclusively that a revelation was 
needed by which guilty man might be pardoned. And 
certainly God alone is able to direct and lay down the 
principle upon which erring men may be saved ; and no 
being in the universe but God can know infallibly. No 
wonder, then, that man, wherever he has not been in- 
structed out of the oracles of God, should be ignorant. 
Hence the vast importance of constant instruction from 
youth to manhood in the law of our God. 

3. True conviction implies a sense of the necessity of 
doing something in order to be saved. "What must I 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 



93 



do?" is the language of true penitence. When the apostle 
was awakened on his way to Damascus, what did he say 
to Jesus Christ as an anxious sinner? "Lord, what wilt 
thou have me to do?" He felt, as all do, that effort is 
necessary; and it is said of him, "Behold he prayeth !" 
And who, of all the sinners that mercy has saved, did not 
engage in works evangelical in their character, namely, 
repentance, prayer, and other performances, as works 
meet for repentance, as they had opportunity? We 
answer, None. Not works of merit ; for such no man can 
perform as the reason why he is saved. That reason for 
the pardon of sin is found in something else. And this 
leads us to consider the second part of our subject. 

II. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 

SHALT BE SAVED." 

1. What is it to believe in him ? I answer, it is to trust 
in him as having died for us as a sacrifice for our sins. 
That his death was sacrificial in its character is a doctrine 
the most important in the Bible: "Him hath God set 
forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood ;" and 
in heaven there is no song, amid its ransomed myriads of 
earth, but "to Him that loved them and washed them from 
their sins in his own blood." "He loved me," says the 
apostle, "and gave himself for me." This great truth is 
to be received into the heart, and laid hold of as the last, 
the only hope of man ; for there is no other. 

2. Now the results of such a belief in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. It is said in the text, "Believe, and thou shalt be 
saved." The salvation promised in the text is precisely 
what man's necessities call for. I say, pardon of the sins 
of thy life. It is the order of God that to the penitent 
that believeth in Jesus Christ his faith is accepted, and he 
counted righteous, for the sake of the Redeemer ; so that 
now he who was afar off is brought nigh by the blood of 
Jesus ; and, because he is a child of God by regeneration, 



04 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 



God sends into his heart the spirit of his Son, saying, 
" Abba, Father." Not only is man saved by being justified 
and adopted into the family of God, but he is enabled to 
rejoice in hope of the glory of God. -Delightful prospects 
of his inheritance in heaven open up to the eye of his 
faith, and pushing toward the mark in all holy conformity 
to the Divine will, he grows up into Christ, his living head. 

3. And whatever God has graciously promised in the 
way of personal and inward holiness of heart in this life, 
is attained unto, in all its glorious results here, by believ- 
ing in the Lord Jesus Christ "with all the heart." Not 
only pardon, but purity is effected by the same method. 
Are we pardoned by faith in Jesus, so are we purified by 
"faith in the blood of the Lamb." "God," says St. 
Peter, "put no difference between us and them, purifying 
their hearts by faith, as he did ours." Here, then, is the 
world's remedy, and shows itself to be of God, from the 
fact that it takes hold of the very fountain of corruption 
in man, and makes him a new creature in Christ Jesus. 
The tree is made good, and the fruits will be good also. 
This is a great salvation, and every way worthy of the 
Father of mercies. But this is not all ; for, 

4. It saves man from the results of past sin. Man 
dying in sin is hopelessly lost. 0, how great is that sal- 
vation which rescues man from all the consequences of 
transgression in the world to come! "The wages of sin 
is death;" the second death; a separation of the mercy 
of God from the sinner forever ; one dark night of per- 
petual sorrow, without one star to shine upon the doleful 
state. To believe in Jesus saves from this ; for the accept- 
ance of Jesus, the sacrifice of Calvary, upon the part of 
man, opens up the way from ruin to happiness. "He that 
believeth in the Son of God hath life ;" he that believeth 
not the Son hath not life, "but the wrath of God abide th 
upon him." 



THE MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 



95 



5. It positively saves hereafter in heaven. To him that 
• savingly believeth in Christ, it is in him, by the Spirit, as 
a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The 
Christian begins a life by faith that is to be perpetuated 
in glory to all eternity. And who can estimate this ? to 
be a "child of God," an "heir of God, a joint-heir with 
Christ?" to be redeemed, body and spirit, and made like 
the glorious, risen, exalted Savior? "It doth not yet ap- 
pear what we shall be;" "we shall be like him, for we 
shall see him as he is." This is enough. Blessed Savior, 
let our hearts be thine in time, that we may dwell with 
thee forever. 

Application. 1. Hast thou felt thy sins and beheld thy 
danger, be careful that you turn not away to seek relief 
in dissipation and forgetfulness. The mercy of God has 
opened thy spiritual sight. "Believe in Jesus, and thou 
shalt be saved." 2. No good is gained by attempted 
forgetfulness, but positive evil. You will think again, 
and in fearful array will come up the past with fearful 
aggravation, when thou shalt look upon the picture of thy 
moral deformity forever, and never to be purged. 3. Now 
Jesus stands to save; slight not his love. Come now; 
live for him ; feel his power to save ; live forever ! 



SEKMOW VII. 

BY REV. ANDREW CARROLL. 

PROPER USE OF THE MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 

" And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of 
unrighteousness ; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlast- 
ing habitations," Luke xvi, 9. 

According to Jerome, the word for riches in the Syriac 
was mammon, and, likely, this word was thus introduced 
into the language of Palestine, which was a mixed dialed, 



96 



THE PROPER USE OF THE 



for the term riches, and thus used by our Lord. "Plato, 
in his 'Republic/ says, that in proportion to the degree in 
which riches are honored and admired, virtue will be 
slighted and disregarded." Thus writes a heathen in con- 
firmation of Divine revelation, on the subject of virtue 
and vice. 

The mammon of unrighteousness. This can not mean, 
in the Scripture, ill-gotten, or unjustly-obtained wealth ; 
for it would be preposterous to think, that by such riches 
a person could earn an eternal inheritance in glory ; but 
rather should he make restoration. Dr. Bloomfield pre- 
fers to apply adikia to unfair advantages being used 
to amass riches; hence unrighteous; but this we deem 
rather foreign to the obvious sense of the text, as it 
plainly means the riches of this life obtained ever so 
honestly ; at best they are uncertain riches — they are de- 
ceitful. (Matthew xiii, 22; Mark iv, 19; Luke viii, 14.) 
The terms may be rendered the false riches, in opposition 
to the true riches mentioned in verse eleventh. They are 
false, for they promise much, and in the hour of man's 
greatest extremity can give no relief. What are they in 
sickness or death, but comparative unrighteous mammon ? 

Still we are to make friends of these riches; but where, 
on earth, or in heaven? Touching this point the learned 
differ. Some say, make friends of the angels in heaven ; 
others say, make friends of the poor and needy, by reliev- 
ing them in this life, that by their prayers, etc., they may 
be means of our reception into heaven. This Scott and 
Le Bas suppose ; but it is better, with Dr. A. Clarke, 
to apply it to the Lord himself, at least in the main sense, 
as the poor may live longer than the donors, and the lat- 
ter enter into heaven before the former; and some of 
those poor thus relieved, may die wicked and never enter 
heaven ; hence, they could not receive us. The expression 
seems to be a mere Hebraism — "They may receive you, 



MAMMON QF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 97 

for ye shall be received," The Jehovah bestows all gifts, 
"every good and perfect gift," and to him are ye amena- 
ble for those gifts. Hence, none but those who make a 
proper use of every dollar they possess have reason to ex- 
pect eternal life. (See Matthew xxv, 33.) So that "he 
that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in 
much." 

When ye fail; that is, when ye die. The Greek term 
is used in this sense in the Septuagint and by Josephus. 
Notice, 

I. Some reasons wherefore we should make friends 

OF OUR EARTHLY RICHES, AND THE WAY TO EFFECT IT. 

1 . The chief reason originates in our moral nature, and 
in the character of the Divine government. We suppose it 
to be implied, that the characters addressed, "yourselves," 
in the text, are those saved by grace — converted to God — 
the business of whom is to befriend themselves in the 
future by their present earthly treasures or riches, whether 
much or little. It wiJl be taken for granted that the Lord, 
the true owner of universal treasures, has, in reality, no 
need of our pittance of contributions ; hence, he is not de- 
pendent on us for the support of his poor, as he might 
clothe them as he does the lilies of the field, or support 
them as he did the Israelites in the desert. The Lord 
says, "Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle 
upon a thousand hills ; the world is mine, and the fullness 
thereof." Then why does he entreat us for merciful acts, 
or deeds of benevolence ? The answer is, 

The principles of the Divine government, and the na- 
ture of our moral character, are such, that the one can not 
be honored, and the other made happy, without cultiva- 
ting benevolent affections ; hence originates the necessity 
of our making friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. 
If, therefore, the main reasons for benevolent acts are 
traceable to the moral nature of things, and these things 

9 



96 



THE PROPER USE OF THE 



so constituted by God himself, the prime reason rests in 
God. Then the plain inference is, that Jehovah can not 
constitute us happy, unless he change the laws of his 
moral government, and our moral nature, apart from the 
exercise of beneficent actions. This being the Divine or- 
dination, accordingly, we have the poor always with us. 
We have the poor to help, as an abiding rule, by which 
God will enrich us. This is the chief reason for benevo- 
lent action. By beneficent acts, we mean those which 
administer to the souls and bodies of the needy; to send 
the Bible and the missionary to those that have them not, 
and to feed the poor and clothe the naked, etc. 

2. Acts of mercy are divinely authorized, and carry with 
them immediate as well as anticipated rewards. The sen- 
sation of a virtuous act is pleasant to the soul ; every be- 
neficent act carries with it a precious enjoyment. The 
reflection, or the moral of the act, casts a pleasing light 
around the mind, and receives the approval of a good 
conscience. Moreover, such acts being authorized by 
God, are well-pleasing to him, if offered in the proper 
spirit. They must be spontaneously given. " Every man 
according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give : not 
grudgingly, or of necessity ; for God loveth a cheerful 
giver." Mark, here the appeal, for the reason of the 
gift, is made to God, and not to the bleak and distressed 
state of the poor and needy. Mark, again, "do good and 
communicate, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.' ' 
By beneficence God is glorified, and the destitute relieved, 
and the donor sanctified; add to these the final recom- 
pense of reward. In the Bible, we are called upon, not 
only for occasional acts of benevolence, but for a series of 
beneficent acts for the pood of 'others. In whatever points 
the Old and Xew Testament may differ, they perfectly 
harmonize, by express precept, requiring habits of period- 
ical appropriation from our capital, great or small, to sus- 



MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 



99 



tain religion and foster the poor. No other doctrine is 
more explicitly taught. 

3. The doctrine of beneficence is taught in the Scriptures. 
Alms -giving did not originate with the Mosaic economy. 
Long before, Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek, the 
priest of the most high God. Jacob, at Bethel, vowed to 
give a tenth. The same principles are interwoven in the 
Mosaic ritual, and agree with the law of charity incul- 
cated in the New Testament. Though the law of both 
Testaments sets general bounds to the acts of charity, still 
it leaves us indefinite room for acts of love over and above 
those prescribed. 

In the old dispensation the first-fruits of the harvest, 
by custom, a sixtieth part of the whole, were given, and 
the ransom of the first-born male child. In reaping, the 
corners of the field were left for the poor. Here, it is 
said, custom defined this to be a sixtieth part of the whole ; 
in addition, whatever fell from the reaper's hand belonged 
to the poor. Then every seventh year all the land was 
left untilled, and the spontaneous produce was for the 
poor. Then a tenth of all the product of the fields was 
to be given to the Levites. Then there were trespass- 
offerings, sin-offerings, and specified portions of the sacri- 
ficed animals were given to the priests and Levites. Then 
every seventh year all debts were remitted, and the three 
yearly journeys of the male Israelites to Jerusalem, at 
the festivals, was no small tax. So the offerings of the 
Hebrews, annually, were about one-third of their income. 
These gifts were religious and charitable, and if offered in 
the proper spirit, had a happy effect. In the New Testa- 
ment era, the same spirit of beneficence is carried out by 
an intenser feeling of general love. It is a mistaken idea, 
that the primitive Christians had a community system. 
Nothing like this resulted from the great Pentecostal re- 
vival ; though some followed the wholesale plan of benev- 



100 



THE PROPER USE OF THE 



olence, and others wished to follow it, yet some of them 
grudgingly, as Ananias and Sapphira; still, Christians 
in general held their own property, as Mary, the mother 
of John, Tabitha, Simon the tanner, and Lydia. St. Paul 
never thought of the common-stock system when he said, 
"If any provide not for his own, and especially for those 
of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse 
than an infidel.' ' St. Peter recognizes each one's right 
of property in his words to Ananias: "While it remained, 
was it not thine own ; and after it was sold, was it not in 
thine own power?" Nevertheless, the Christians held 
their property "as though they possessed not." 

Brethren, while some among us hide our treasures in 
the purchase of farms and other matters, and hereby 
deem ourselves excused from contributing, by saying we 
are in debt, and, therefore, we can not contribute, very 
certain is it, we act unlike the primitive Christians, for 
they "sold their possessions," to send forward the Gospel 
and relieve the poor. Finally, it is worthy of remark, 
that all the gifts were free-will offerings. The best and 
purest system in the world, is that of voluntary contribu- 
tions. 

4. We come to notice, in the final instance, by way of ex- 
plaining our first general topic, the way of securing heav- 
enly friendship by our earthly riches, or property. The 
best possible manner to effect this, is given by the apostle 
St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians xvi, 1, 2: "Now, concerning 
the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the 
Churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day 
of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as 
God has prospered him, that there be no gatherings when 
I come." 

The law of the Sabbath yields to the law of benefi- 
cence, by apostolic authority; and this teaches that acts 
of beneficence are worthy of the Sabbath. But one object 



MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 



101 



of the injunction was to establish periodical benevo- 
lence; without this, it appears impossible to have system- 
atic and efficient action. Let every good man or woman 
keep a small treasury dedicated to the Lord, and, at the 
hour of family or private prayer, lay aside the sum, ac- 
cording to his prosperity for the past week, for charitable 
purposes. In the apostle's arrangement we have the fol- 
lowing : First. The order of a benevolent arrangement not 
an advice but a command; Secondly. The stated work of 
alms-giving for every Sabbath. This meets the penurious 
cavil of desecrating the Sabbath with filthy lucre, as some 
are wont to reason. Again : another miserly pretense is set 
aside ; namely, the too frequent calls for money, etc. We 
are taught again, that "it is lawful to do good on the Sab- 
bath day." And again : that it is a religious duty to pay 
money for benevolent objects on the Sabbath ; and thus 
paying every Sabbath, will effectually "secure a large 
amount' ' in the end. It is the religious nature of the 
alms-giving, which makes the Sabbath a peculiarly proper 
day for doing it. So the reader will mark, that the Sab- 
bath is the proper time for giving and collecting alms. 

Again: the duty is laid on everyone, "Let every one 
of you lay by him in store." But this duty is commuted 
into a privilege, when we understand that "it is more 
blessed to give than to receive." And hence it is made 
a general law of Christ's kingdom to give willingly accord- 
ing to what we possess. Every one is required to give 
according to his means, and according to his own judgment. 
The poor is expected to "labor, working with his hands, 
that he may have to give to him that needeth." The flex- 
ibility of the apostolic rule makes it beautiful; "it bends 
in perfect adjustment to each one's circumstances." 

Another feature in the apostolic order is, "that there be 
no gatherings when I come." How unlike to the plans of 
the present day ! The apostle was gathering funds for the 

9* 



102 



THE PROPER USE OF THE 



poor Christians at Jerusalem ; but he does not say to the 
Corinthian brethren, ' ' Wait and prepare yourselves till I 
arrive and lay before you the necessitous cases of the Je- 
rusalem Christians;" no, but "lay by you weekly," etc. 
Our present system of popular agents, sooner or later, 
will be abolished. We have diverged from the Divine 
plan. The apostle's argument was purely evangelical, not 
setting forth subjects of sufferings, in all their tender and 
afflicted relations, till, for the time being, our sympathies 
are roused to give ; but the true principles of religion still 
lie dormant, and our ideas of duty remain vague, and the 
heart but little benefited after all. 0, that we would re- 
turn as soon as possible to the old evangelical path, that 
there be no gatherings when I come! Let this work be done 
because it is right in itself, and glorious in its effects. Let 
the poor be moved to benevolence by such examples as 
Louisa Osborn, the colored domestic, who, from the wages 
of one dollar a week, paid twenty dollars a year to edu- 
cate a youth in Ceylon, which has produced such fine 
results. Let us never forget the widow's two mites. Let 
the more wealthy adopt some rule like Mr. 1ST. R. Cobb, 
a merchant of Boston, to give from the outset one-quarter 
of the net profits of his business. Should he ever be 
worth $20,000, to give one-half of the net profits; if 
worth $30,000, to give three-quarters; and if ever worth 
$50,000, to give all the profits. This resolution he kept 
till his death, at tbe age of thirty-six, when he had 
already acquired $50,000, and was giving all his profits. 
Zaccheus, on his conversion, determined to give the one- 
half and restore fourfold. The Rev. John Wesley is an- 
other example. "When his income was £30 a year, he 
lived on £28, and gave away £2. The next year his 
income was £60, and still living on £28, he had £32 to 
give. The fourth year his income was raised to £120, 
and steadfast to his plan the poor got £92." Others 



MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 



103 



have given the tenth of the gross amount of their receipts, 
and thus, by earthly mammon, have secured friends to 
welcome them into " everlasting habitations/' Let us 
now notice, more particularly, 

II. The motive contemplated in the text, "That 

THEY MAY RECEIVE YOU INTO EVERLASTING HABITATIONS." 

In the introduction of this subject we stated that this 
expression meant, in particular, the Lord of life himself; 
but it may embrace the holy angels, and the spirits of just 
men made perfect, already in glory, who have watched 
our benevolence on earth, and hereby they have become 
our zealous friends in heaven, to receive and greet us on 
our entrance into final glory. 

1 . The proper use of the mammon of this life will help 
to qualify us for the life to come. A sinful heart is always 
covetous. A consecrated heart is in communion with God, 
and in possession of the love of Christ. This love con- 
straineth to deeds of benevolence, and these deeds 
strengthen this love. This love is antagonistic to the love 
of money, wljich is the root of all evil. 

It has sometimes been the case that those who were 
comparatively poor were benevolent accordingly ; but 
when they became wealthy, they likewise became penu- 
rious and covetous, forgetting the precept, "If riches 
increase, set not your heart upon them ;" thus hinting 
that their increase is likely to attract our hearts to them. 
Let us guard this point well. 

"Out of the gifts of God to us we bestow our gifts, 
and out of our gifts he brings the elements of our in- 
crease. " "He that soweth sparingly shall reap also 
sparingly, and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also 
bountifully. " Reader, do you, in truth, believe the word 
of God? If so, in God's name, bestir yourself from this 
moment. Remember, "none of us liveth to himself." 
True habits of benevolence embrace a "practical acknowi- 



104 



THE PROPER USE OF THE 



edgment of God." His blessing will be showered forth 
upon the industrious, who live and act to glorify him by 
his thrift. So a liberal beneficence will help to qualify us 
to live happy here, as well as to secure us future felicity ; 
and the more beneficent, the greater amount of glory shall 
we receive hereafter ; for, if we sow plentifully, we shall 
reap abundantly. But, in connection with this, we shall 
thrive better in this present life. No man, who fears God 
and loves his fellow-beings, will be an idle spectator in 
this world. The glory of God and the multiform dis- 
tresses of mankind will so prompt him to action and econ- 
omy that, in view of which, idleness and prodigality will 
be out of the question ; and the blessings of heaven will 
be poured upon him, and these will prompt him to re- 
newed acts of beneficence. So, in those labors of love, 
he shall have the smiles of the Savior, and glide along 
sweetly to the great harvest and full rewards of eternal 
fruition ; and so a proper use of the mammon of unright- 
eousness will qualify us, through the atonement of Jesus, 
for a welcome reception, by the Lamb of God and the 
friends of his love, into the joy of their Lord. Heaven 
and earth are united by strong ties. Jesus draws ; heaven 
attracts : angels invite, and saints beckon us homeward. 

Every truly-religious man is a beneficent man ; and the 
purer our views of divine things, and the more our hearts 
are affected with these things, the more beneficent are we. 

2. Apart from faithful, beneficent acts, neither God, 
angels, nor happy spirits will receive us into everlasting 
habitations. The reasons are obvious. " God is love;" 
angels love ; happy spirits love. This love is ever active, 
wherever found, particularly where misery abounds. We 
live in a world of misery ; because this is a wicked world. 
Yanity spurs us to talk of the dignity of man ; but, alas ! 
where is it? Is it in the swarming hordes of Hottentots? 
If not, so far as our nature is concerned, the same may be 



MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 



105 



fairly affirmed of Americans or Britons. Where is the 
dignity of thousands of sunburnt animals, or tenderly- 
decorated ones, with appetites ungoverned and minds un- 
principled, ever prompted to deeds of selfishness and 
tyranny, brutality and filthiness — strangers to every art 
but that of slaughter, to honor, but selfish daring? See 
the balmy southern states of united America, slumbering 
in the arms of the goddess of liberty, filled with the luxu- 
ries of the earth, and crowned with the dews and smiles 
of heaven; yet, at the same time, see them, both saint 
and sinner, feasting and fattening on the sweat, and dust, 
and bloody toil of the souls and bodies of their three mill- 
ion slaves, driving them to market as so many stupid 
mules, handcuffing the male parent, and selling under the 
hammer, to the highest bidder, the bosom-rent and tearful 
mother, from the husband and weeping children ; while the 
master, and driver, and auctioneer pray to the Lamb and 
chant halleluiah ! Gracious heavens ! if these things are 
found in the very bosom of Christendom, what may we 
expect of the world, or the native dignity of man? Then, 
as there are sins and miseries in our world, which must 
ever remain till the end of time, unless relieved by the 
Gospel of Christ, which breathes the spirit of benevo- 
lence or ' 'good will to men," the sufferings of our sin- 
stricken world extort the cry and tear from Jew, Greek, 
bond and free, Roman and barbarian, for beneficence. 

God, by his prophet, cries to every follower of Jesus, 
' 'Strip ye; make ye bare ; tremble; be troubled; lament 
for the pleasant fields they have been, by sin, turned 
into mildew and blasting ; and, instead of native dignity, 
the human heart is " deceitful above all things, and des- 
perately wicked," weltering in blood, and moaning in dis- 
tress. It is, therefore, rational, and ever must be so, to 
exercise benevolence. In truth, there is no evangelical 
religion where there is no beneficence. 



106 



THE PROPER USE OF THE 



The history of primitive Christians confirms the forego- 
ing. The ministers of Jesus periled their lives, and suffered 
the loss of all things, in rescuing men from the miseries of 
vice. "It is recorded of one man that he sold himself as 
a slave to a heathen family to get access to them for their 
conversion, and for years cheerfully endured the labor and 
condition of a slave, till he succeeded with the whole fam- 
ily, and took his liberty from the gratitude of the converts. 
The same person, on a visit to Sparta, again entered him- 
self as a slave in the family of the governor of Sparta, 
and served two years, and again succeeded in his design.' ' 

Among the primitive Christians, ladies of the highest 
rank acted as nurses of the sick, and exposed themselves 
to contagion and death in the relief of others. Their 
moneys, toils, and prayers were free as air. In the time 
of Cyprian, the plague came upon Carthage with a pro- 
tracted visitation. The heathen abandoned their sick; 
the highways were strewed with corpses, which none 
dared to bury. But the Christians faced every danger, 
and oft died in deeds of mercy. The heathen parents de- 
serted their own children, and the children their parents, 
in hours of severe distress. If a Christian was thrust 
into prison, his fellow Christians came around the prison 
doors, seeking admission amid the insults of surly guards ; 
others beset the prison walls, night and day, with suppli- 
cations to God and man for the deliverance of the prison- 
ers. In the time of Chrysostom, the Church under his 
care had on its catalogue three thousand sick and poor, 
regular beneficiaries, besides various other calls. "Better 
that we be like the sacred oil of the seven-branched can- 
dlestick, consumed ourselves, while giving a holy light to 
others, than to gain, for our own enjoyment, all that sel- 
fishness ever won."' See the fellow-laborers of the Lord; 
"bloody with scourging, fastened painfully in the stocks" 
of an inner prison, they break the silence of midnight 



MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 



107 



with songs of rapture. They loved ; love toils, sacrifices, 
and suffers, but still sings. This spirit of love no prison 
wall nor martyrdom can silence. 

Again : if the resources of the Church are only as a 
"handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse, 
the barrel of meal will not waste, neither shall the cruse 
of oil fail," till the work be accomplished. Be of good 
courage, therefore, and trust in the Lord. He that fed 
"five thousand" with "five loaves and two fishes," can 
convert the world through our labors of love. When the 
Moravians only consisted of about six hundred persons, 
many of whom were exiles, they began the beneficent 
work of missions, and, at the expiration of ten years, they 
had carried the Gospel into Lapland, Greenland, St. 
Croix, Surinam, to Algiers, Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, 
and Tartary. The Methodist Churches have done a good 
part in evangelizing the world, from the days of Wesley 
and Coke to Asbury ; and from these to the present, our 
missionaries, particularly in the United States of North 
America, have not been surpassed in modern days for 
active beneficence, and our membership have followed hard 
in the wake. 

Another consideration for active beneficence is, the 
Divine promises of temporal blessings. A few must suffice; 
"Thou shalt surely give thy poor brother, and thy heart 
shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him ; because 
that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all 
thy works, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto," 
Deuteronomy xv, 10; "He that giveth to the poor shall 
not lack;" " Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with 
the first-fruits of all thine increase ; so shall thy barns be 
filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with 
new wine," Proverbs iii, 9; "Seek ye first the kingdom 
of God, and all these things shall be added unto you," 
Matthew vi, 33; "Give, and it shall be given unto you; 



108 



THE MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 



good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and 
running over, shall men give unto your bosom," Luke vi, 
38. These Scriptures have been confirmed by a variety 
of occurrences in the business of men. Hundreds of 
uncharitable men have failed in business ; but point out, if 
you can, one person, among business men, who has been 
systematically beneficent, who has failed. Men can not 
see what may occur in the course of time ; but the great 
Provider can, and he only can, defend both men and their 
business from failure. That deadly, money -getting spirit, 
that covetous, over-reaching heart, God will give up to 
the careering winds, tempests, and darkness of a stormy 
sea, without compass or rudder. Therefore, as God has 
promised defense, safety, and prosperity to beneficent 
spirits, this, in addition to the foregoing reasons, should 
have its influence to inspire us with the spirit of mercy 
and good works. 

Finally, reader, as an intelligent Bible Christian, may 
we not trust that thou art beneficent, and, therefore, in 
the surrounding light of Gospel day, thou art determined 
to be systematically so? Then, dear friend, suffer us to 
solicit your attention, as we may, to think soberly of one 
class of our fellow-beings, the widows of deceased Meth- 
odist ministers and their fatherless children, as objects of 
your sympathy and beneficence. These were ladies gen- 
erally raised in, at least, tolerably good circumstances, 
and members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. These 
left fairer fame and greater worldly prospects for the more 
humble but not less honorable stations of being helpmeets 
for this " self-sacrificing class of men," as the great Dr. 
A. Clarke terms them. Their husbands have died, and 
most of them in comparative poverty — men who turned 
their attention to the work of the ministry — "men of one 
work" having the world for their parish. Dear friend, 
shall the sixty-one thousand Church members in the 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 109 

bounds of the Ohio annual conference, the garden of our 
state, suffer a few poor widows of good Christian char- 
acter and a few orphan children to starve for lack of bread 
or ordinary clothing ? 0, no ! The sisters named on our 
Minutes, if their circumstances were known, the hearts 
even of the friends of the Church would be apt to relieve 
them. Could the members of our Church see the dear 
children of their former pastors, who were, in times past, 
the instruments, under God, of their conversion, live in 
tattered garments and pine for food, without relieving 
them? Or, should they have to retire to their fathers' 
graves to plead to their fathers' God to feed them by 
ravens ? God looks down from heaven upon them. He 
has placed them among us for the best object, that he 
may bless us more abundantly, if we relieve them. Yea, 
more : the Lord places the widows and fatherless children 
among us instead of himself, and says to us, "Verily I 
say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the 
least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." 
Remember Christ will give us credit accordingly, and 
hereby we shall make him our friend to welcome us into 
"everlasting habitations." Our habitation here is very 
fragile, pending on the will of God, and, at any moment, 
he may call us to give an account of our stewardship. 



SEKMON TIH. 

BY REV. WILLIAM F. STEWART. 

THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 

H Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together 
in unity," Psalms. 

Beyond controversy the Almighty designed that the 
human family should constitute one great brotherhood, 

10 



110 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



Hence, in man's creation, he not only sent the "one 
blood" coursing through all veins, thus constituting an 
endless and universal literal kindred, but he also planted 
deep in his constitution a desire, yea, a demand for soci- 
ety. This demand is so imperious, that neither the charms 
which poesy nor the importance which some religions have 
thrown around solitude can prevent the lone one from 
sighing, 

" 0, Solitude, where are the charms 
That sages have seen in thy face? 
Better dwell in the midst of alarms, 
Than reign in this horrible place." 

But while men are attracted "together" by inclinations, 
and compelled, by interest, to "dwell together," seldom 
is it our privilege to behold that "unity" among them 
which is contemplated in the text, and which is the essence 
of that great brotherhood which God designed. A unity 
of feeling, and purpose, and effort for the securement of 
God's glory and man's happiness is certainly both desira- 
ble and possible. " Behold how good," etc.; and, 

I. This unity is good; 

1. Because God requires it. His will on this subject is 
not only learned from the history of man's creation and 
position, as set forth in the introductory remarks, but 
clearly expressed by the pen of inspiration. Hence the 
astonishment of Paul when informed by them of the 
house of Chloe that there were contentions in the Corinth- 
ian Church, and his present exhortation: "Now, I beseech 
you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions 
among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in 
the same mind and in the same judgment." And so 
solicitous was he that they should understand and obey 
the will of God in this respect, that he presses it again 
and again; and even when he had so nearly closed the 
last epistle to that Church as to say farewell, he would 



9 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. Ill 

make, in connection with that endearing word, a final im- 
pression on this subject. " Finally, brethren, farewell. 
Be perfect; be of good comfort; be of one mind; live 
in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall be with 
you." 

The great apostle and his associates only echoed the 
teachings of Jesus Christ. When he gave to the disciples 
the new commandment, that they should ' ' love one an- 
other," he knew the attractive power of love. He de- 
signed that, like kindred drops of water, they should run 
together till they should "sit together in heavenly places 
in Christ Jesus." And, 0, how pointedly, impressively, 
and pathetically is his will manifested in that sublime 
prayer which he offered up for his disciples! "And now 
I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and 
I. come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own 
name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be 
one, as we are;" "Neither pray I for these alone, [his 
apostles ;] but for them also which shall believe on me 
through their word: that they all may be one; as thou, 
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one 
in us : that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 
And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them ; 
that they may be one, even as we are one ; I in them, and 
thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one ; and 
that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast 
loved them as thou hast loved me." 

2. It is good, because it gives stability to the Church. 
Fluctuations and declensions are abundant in those con- 
gregations where Christian unity does not prevail, while 
advancement in experience and increase of members are 
peculiar to those congregations who preserve the "unity 
of the spirit in the bonds of peace." And we will do 
well to ponder well this very thing. The revivals of the 
Church, at the present time, great and glorious as they 



112 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



are, do not surpass those of primitive times; but the 
proportion of those who stand fast, as the fruits of modern 
revivals, is certainly smaller than in the days of the 
Church's infancy. Why is this? Read attentively the 
state of the Church at the time of the first great revival. 
Says the historian, " These all continued with one accord in 
prayer and supplication, with the women, and with Mary 
the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." And on 
the happy morning, 4 'they were all, with one accord, in 
one place." This, perhaps, is the grand reason that it is 
recorded of the three thousand, added that day to the 
Church, that "they continued steadfastly in the apostles' 
doctrines and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and 
in prayers." Worldly wisdom calculates on stability, as 
connected with human institutions, only in proportion to 
the unity existing among their patrons, and appropriately 
says, "United we stand." Jesus calculates upon unity in 
every Church which seeks to stand upon the rock; and of 
such only has he declared, "The gates of hell shall not 
prevail against it." 

3. It is good, because it gives influence to the Church. 
It increases her influence with God. Who has not known 
a want of unity to prevent the prayers and neutralize the 
efforts of truly pious ones? poor penitents at the altar 
of prayer and a part of the Church richly baptized with 
the spirit of the work, and yet nothing accomplished on 
account of those who would not come up to the help of 
the Lord? And till those Achans were put out of the 
way the Israel of God was compelled to stand still. I 
know the supplications of a single man of God may ac- 
complish much. I remember Daniel, and Elijah, and 
Paul ; and I have read of their power at the mercy-seat : 
and yet I remember that Jesus taught, "If two of you 
shall agree, as touching one thing, it shall be granted." 
I remember that he taught, "If thou bring thy gift before 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



113 



the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath 
aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar 
and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brother, and 
then come and offer thy gift." From these teachings I am 
convinced that unity among brethren increases their influ- 
ence with God. Only when she comes up unitedly to the 
help of the Lord against the mighty, does she lay hold 
upon omnipotence ; then only do the walls of prisons 
shake, the doors of dungeons fly open of their own ac- 
cord, and Heaven's blessings come showering thick and 
fast. And if the harmony of the Church gives her influ- 
ence with God, certainly it greatly enlarges her influence 
with the world. What family exerts the most decided in- 
fluence in favor of Christianity? Is it the one, where 
husband and wife, parents and children, professing much 
love for Christ, exhibit but little for each other? Does 
not a domestic broil throw a suspicion on the professions 
and curtail the influence of any family? The same is 
true of the Church: when divided she is always ' ' weak" 
if not ' ' contemptible ;" but when united, there goes out 
from her an influence which the world must feel, and 
by which it may be moved. For of a Church, in such a 
case, it will not only be said as of her after the Pente- 
costal baptism, that she "has favor with all the people/ ' 
but it will be added, as of that same congregation, that 
an influence will go forth so powerful that "fear" will 
"come upon every soul." How mighty such a Church! 
The great geometrician said, "Give me a place for my 
fulcrum, and I will move the world but a band of united 
brethren, in God's service, can move earth and heaven. 
that another Pentecost might come, and brethren show 

"How Christians lived in days of old, 
A proverb of reproach and love." 

If the plain declaration of Scripture, and the increased 
stability and influence of the Church sufficiently evidence 

10* 



114 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



that it is "good," other considerations beside these will 
show that 

II. It is pleasant for brethren to dwell together in 
unity. In passing to this thought we may remark: 

1. It is pleasant to the members of the Church them- 
selves to dwell together thus. The spirit of strife is an 
unpleasant spirit ; the spirit of peace is a pleasant spirit. 
An individual who had been greatly injured was asked 
why he did not take revenge upon the perpetrator of the 
wrong. He responded that he was always unhappy when 
he allowed himself to become angry, and for the sake of 
enjoyment he had resolved to restrain wrath. This was 
the philosophy of an unregenerated man ; and surely 
Christians find more enjoyment in harmony than in strife. 
When brethren can not meet in the same class, or kneel at 
the same communion board, how little comfort do they 
feel ! but 0, how it swells the ample breast when discord 
is put far away, and smiling face greets smiling face, and 
Christian hand grasps Christian hand, and Christian knee 
with Christian knee in sweet communion bends, and 
Christian song and prayer with Christian song and prayer 
sweetly blend, and swell, and rise to God ! How pleasant 
it is to the members ! 

2. But it is pleasant to the pastors of the Church. If 
there ever is a time when the itinerant rejoices in the ap- 
proach of conference, it is when, unhappily, strife abounds 
in the congregation over which he is placed as pastor. If 
there is ever a time when he would be willing to close his 
itinerant course, and "build three tabernacles here," and 
make a permanent abode, it is when he can look over his 
congregation and say, "Behold how pleasant it is for 
brethren to dwell together in unity." He is not afraid 
then to visit brother B., or sup with sister C, lest brother 
E. or F. will regard him as taking sides in an unfortunate 
difficulty. In such a congregation he has a spirit to labor, 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



115 



and is crowned with success in his labors. Of such a con- 
gregation he often dwells in sweetest memories when the 
infirmities of age have laid him aside from the regular work, 
and to such a Church he would willingly be a ministering 
spirit when exalted to a higher sphere of ministration. 

3. But such a scene is pleasant for angels to look upon. 
Doubtless they feel deeply interested in the affairs of the 
Church. That they are thrilled with exceeding joy, upon 
the penitence of sinners, infallibility assures us; nor can 
we doubt but they rejoice in that state of things which 
is calculated ta bring sinners under awakening influence. 
And if, as we have attempted to show, the unity of breth- 
ren gives to the Church an influence mighty with God 
and men — an influence which penetrates the deepest 
chambers of the soul — in this surely they can but rejoice. 
The one who was with his beloved disciple on the Isle of 
Patmos, declared himself to be his "fellow-servant;" and 
we can scarcely suppose that the memories of the past, 
and the expanded views of the higher state, would not 
cause him to esteem more highly than we a scene so pleas- 
ant. I sometimes think that if angels ever smile a sweeter 
smile, or swell a note of higher melody, or bound away 
with intense joy on their missions, it is when from the 
battlements of heaven they look down upon such a peo- 
ple and sing, "Behold, how good and pleasant it is for 
brethren to dwell together in unity !" Thus the goodness 
and pleasantness of the Christian brotherhood have passed 
before us in brief review ; but there remains an important 
question yet to be considered. It is this : 

III. How can this state of things be brought about and 
made permanent in the Church ? I reply, first, and in gen- 
eral terms, by a new and continuous baptism of the Holy 
Ghost. But to be more particular, by the assistance of 
the Holy Spirit, we must 

1. Bear with each other's infirmities. Most of us have 



116 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



our weaknesses and infirmities. But what is remarkable, 
is, that we can see and lament the infirmities of our breth- 
ren so much easier than we can our own. We can see 
that a brother prays and sings too loud, but forget that 
we seldom sing or pray at all. We complain that one is 
too forward — taking too active a part in every Church 
movement, and forget that we have stubbornly refused to 
do any thing. We can overlook the sin of fault-finding, 
and fix the eye only upon the sin of fault-doing . It seems 
that the law in optics, which requires the object of vision 
to be placed at some distance from the eye, finds place 
among the laws of depraved spiritual vision. And what 
is to be deplored is, that the infirmities of our brethren 
are always found just in the 'focal distance" so that we 
can see a mote in our brother's eye easier than a beam in 
our own. Let us turn about and place ourselves in our 
brethren's places of observation, and looking back upon 
our own infirmities we shall learn a lesson of mercy which 
will prepare us, with some propriety, to say, 

" That mercy I to others show, 
That mercy show to me." 

We will be willing to bear and forbear, and forbear that 
we may be borne with. It may be asked, " Shall I never 
speak of the sins of my brethren?" Certainly, when they 
are sins, and are known to you, you may, nay, you must 
speak of them, not to your neighbor but to him first; not 
on the street or in the store, but with thee and him alone. 
And if you find it necessary to speak of it further, see 
that you do it in the way of Bible teaching. If he is 
guilty of sin and you can convert him, you will do a great 
work, even "save a soul from death and hide a multitude 
of sins." Bearing with one another; and 

2. Bearing one another's burdens. Perhaps one of the 
most prolific sources of alienations among the followers 
of Christ is the want of a spirit of bearing one another's 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



117 



burdens, or aiding to bear the common burden. Is there 
a sexton to be paid ; repairs of the church to be paid for ; 
a minister to be supported? By whom shall the burden 
be borne? The society consists of a hundred members. 
Shall ten of them bear it all, or will the ninety help ? If 
the ten are compelled to bear it all, will they feel pleas- 
antly about it? Will they not be likely, in a moment of 
temptation, to make some remark in regard to delinquents 
or " pay -nothing' 9 members, which will cause an alienation 
somewhere ? and may they not justly regard themselves 
as imposed on? If I am not and can not be excluded 
from any one of the privileges of the Church which my 
brother enjoys, am I not with him in duty bound to aid in 
bearing the burden as God has given me strength ? But 
1 am poor, and this sister is very poor; "it would be 
a shame to let her give any thing while others can give, 
and not feel it." Yes, poor woman! she is. Only "two 
mites" in the world, and that is "all her living!" How 
shameful it was in the officer to allow her to throw her 
little all into the treasury ! How strange that some good 
man had not interposed! 0, that the Savior had been 
there to have rectified the matter! The Savior! he was 
there, and he saw it, and he knew it was all she had. He 
smiled ; he approved ; he mentioned it, and had it re- 
corded, that she might be honored, and the poor encour- 
aged to bring their offerings as long as the world shall 
stand. Let the poor bring their pennies; let the rich 
bring their hundreds ; but let all bring something. The 
poor woman received as rich a reward as if, in other cir- 
cumstances, she had brought a fortune ; but had she not 
brought her mites, she would have received no reward. 
Find me a society where every one pays his part of the 
whole requirement, and I will show you one where this 
sermon would be read without a critique; bearing each 
other's burdens, and so fulfilling the law of the Lord. 



118 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



3. Love one another with pure hearts fervently. " This is 
the very thing," says one, "that I don't know how to do. 
I can bear with infirmities, and I can aid in carrying bur- 
dens; but I can't love those in whose piety I have no con- 
fidence." How much confidence do you suppose the 
Almighty had in your piety and mine when he " so loved 
us " as to give his Son to die for us ? Ought we not, then, 
to "love one another?" "I don't deny that I ought to 
do it; that is plainly taught. But how can IP* He 
has injured you, has he ? and you can't regard him as a 
good brother, but as an enemy — a wolf in sheep's cloth- 
ing? Christ says, "Pray for your enemies; do good to 
those that spitefully use you." Follow those injunctions, 
and the way may be mysterious, but the issue will be glo- 
rious. It is a principle deep implanted in the human 
heart, by the God who made it, that love will generate 
and grow in proportion as we extend our benefactions to 
any one. Mother, why do you love that weak and sickly, 
that unfortunate child, more than that bright-eyed and 
healthy one? Is it not because you have been compelled 
to extend to it more constant and frequent kindnesses? 
When you meet that offending brother, speak a kind word ; 
when opportunity serves, show a kind deed; and three 
times a day on your knees pray God that if he is right 
you may be convinced of it, and if not, that the Almighty 
Spirit may give you charity and him grace. 0, how will 
hatred dissipate, and anger flee, and the love of pity or 
complacency abound ! Remember that Christ and Satan 
are both interested in the eternal destiny of the man, and 
ask, "With which shall I throw the measure of my aid?" 
Bearing with one another, aiding one another, and loving 
one another ; bow love attracts ! how kindness binds ! how 
goodness blends ! The law of kindness regulating pure 
souls — is not this the perfection to which we press ? 0, 
that your society, reader, may be purified and united ! 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 119 

Then will it be one in regard to which a happy member- 
ship, a joyous pastor, and rejoicing angels will sing and 
shout, " Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren 
to dwell together in unity !" 



SEEMON IX. 

BY REV. LORENZO D. HARLAN. 

THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 

"Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but felloAV- 
citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon 
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being 
the chief corner-stone, in whom all the building, fitly framed together, 
groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are builded 
together for a habitation of God through the Spirit," Ephesians n, 19-22. 

This epistle was addressed to the Gentile converts at 
Ephesus. The apostle Paul congratulates them upon 
their union with the Church of God, and the happy 
change effected in their moral condition through the influ- 
ences of Christianity. He reminds them, in this chapter, 
of their former state of alienation from God. They were 
formerly "dead in trespasses and in sins," alienated from 
the life of God by every species of crime and pollution 
characteristic of the Gentile nations; they were "aliens 
from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the 
covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in 
the world." But the grace of God was manifested in 
their salvation. They who were once spiritually dead had 
been "quickened together with Christ. " They who were 
once "afar off" were subsequently brought nigh by the 
blood of atonement. The sacrificial system of the Jewish 
Church was abolished, and thus one great cause of enmity 
existing between Jew and Gentile was removed. The 



120 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



partition wall which for ages had separated them was 
broken down, when Christ, the great, atoning sacrifice, 
offered himself a ransom for the sins of mankind. In this 
way he became "our peace," uniting in one body both 
Jew and Gentile ; and hence, through him as our Medi- 
ator, "we both have access by one spirit unto the Father." 
This brings us to the consideration of the first leading 
proposition of our text. 

I. "NOW, THEREFORE, YE ARE NO MORE STRANGERS AND 
FOREIGNERS, BUT FELLOW-CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS, AND OF 
THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD. 

1. The Gentiles, prior to their conversion, were stran- 
gers and foreigners in the most emphatic sense. In the 
first place, they were strangers to God. It is true they 
had "gods many, and lords many;" but they were fear- 
fully estranged from the one only living and true God. 
So greatly was their knowledge of God obscured through 
their idolatrous system of worship, that the apostle Paul 
declares of them that they were "without God in the 
world." Not liking to retain the true God in their knowl- 
edge, the Gentile nations had greatly multiplied the num- 
ber of their deities. They made to themselves those idol 
gods which had "eyes, but saw not; ears, but heard not; 
hands, but handled not; feet, but walked not." Thus the 
Psalmist speaks of them; and he adds, " They that make 
them are like unto them ; so is every one that trusteth in 
them." 

In the second place, the Gentiles, prior to their conver- 
sion, were strangers to all the blessings and privileges 
guaranteed to the true Church of God. They were not 
only strangers to God, they were also "aliens from the 
commonwealth of Israel." Having no citizenship in the 
Church, they had no intercourse with its members. They 
were treated by the Jews with the utmost abhorrence and 
contempt ; and so deep and determinate was Jewish pvej- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



121 



udice in opposition to the Gentiles, that the apostles them- 
selves were slow to understand the Gospel commmission, 
which required them to preach among the Gentiles the 
" unsearchable riches of Christ,' ' and to make known the 
" fellowship of this" heavenly "mystery," which had 
been "hid from ages and from generations," but which, 
according to the eternal purpose of God, was to be mani- 
fested, in the last days, to his saints. 

2. The Gentiles, before their conversion, were foreign- 

3 3 o 

ers. As such they had no rights or immunities in common 
with the Church of God. Under the Mosaic dispensation 
they were prohibited from mingling with the Jews at the 
temple service. If a foreigner brought an offering to the 
temple he could only present it at the court of the Gen- 
tiles or wall of partition spoken of by the apostle Paul, 
where it was received, and sacrifice was offered for him, 
while he was forbidden to approach the altar. 

3. Under the Christian dispensation there is no differ- 
ence between Jew and Gentile. All are guilty before 
God. All are still strangers and foreigners till converted, 
as were the Gentiles mentioned in the text. They forsook 
their idols and worshiped the God of heaven in spirit and 
in truth. Hence they both knew God, and glorified him 
as God. Such a knowledge of God, so frequently men- 
tioned in Scripture, implies a thorough change of heart; 
and all who are acquainted with God, in this sense, enjoy 
the forgiveness of sins and acceptance in Christ Jesus. 
To enjoy a Scriptural knowledge of God is to be, as it 
were, alive from the dead; for "this is eternal life, to 
know the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom he hath 
sent." 

4. We notice that the Gentiles, after their conversion, 
were "fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the house- 
hold of God." They were translated from the darkness 
and pollutions of Paganism into the kingdom of God's 

1 1 



122 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



dear Son. They were, therefore, citizens. Their rights 
and privileges were secured to them through the Gospel 
of Christ. They entered, upon their conversion, into new 
relations, both to God and to his Church. They were 
created anew in Christ Jesus ; old things passed away, and 
all things became new. Formerly, they were subject to 
" the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that worketh 
in the children of disobedience.' ' They were led captive 
by him at his will. But, when released from that misera- 
ble thralldom, they enjoyed, with all the saints, the mani- 
fold blessings of the grace of God. 

5. The regenerate are members of God's family. They 
are children of God by faith in Christ Jesus: "And if 
children, then heirs — heirs of God, and joint-heirs with 
Christ.' ' Viewed in this relation, the children of God 
enjoy many exalted privileges. In the first place, they 
are partakers of the Divine nature. " They are born, not 
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 
man, but of God." They no longer bear the image of the 
earthly, but of the heavenly — the image of righteousness 
and true holiness. In the second place, the children of 
God enjoy the blessing of justification : " There is no con- 
demnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." To such 
persons "the law of the Spirit," which has a quickening 
power, imparts freedom from the law of sin and death ; 
and, in connection with the pardon of sin, all true believers 
enjoy the direct witness of the Spirit, bearing testimony 
both to their regeneration and adoption. *f Because ye 
are sons," says Paul, " God hath sent forth the spirit of 
his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." "The 
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the 
children of God." All these blessings accrue to us 
through God's boundless mercy in Christ Jesus. St. 
Paul, speaking upon this subject, says, "Not by works of 
righteousness which we have done, but according to his 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



123 



mercy he hath saved us ; by the washing of regeneration and 
renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abund- 
antly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that, being justified 
by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the 
hope of eternal life." 

In the third place, the children of God are subjects of 
angelic ministrations. In the epistle to the Hebrews we 
learn that the angels of God are "all ministering spirits, 
sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of sal- 
vation." Again: "Ye are come unto Mount Zion and 
unto the city of the living God. the heavenly Jerusalem, 
and to an innumerable company of angels." These 
angels exercise a constant guardianship over the house- 
hold of God. Then there must be union between the 
Church on earth and the Church in heaven ; and this 
union is not merely nominal ; it is real, enduring, perma- 
nent union. The apostle Paul speaks of the glorified 
Church in heaven and the Church on earth as consti- 
tuting one single family. "I bow my knees," says he, 
"unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the 
whole family in heaven and in earth is named." The 
truth is, the Son of man has opened heaven to the visions 
of our faith, and the ascending and descending angels 
shall keep up a perpetual intercourse between heaven and 
earth, till the glory of the Church militant shall be seen 
melting away in the bright and burning glories of the 
Church triumphant. 

II. We notice, secondly, that the Church is built 
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. 

1. The language here employed is figurative, and is 
designed to show the stability of the Church. The 
apostle Paul says that "other foundation can no man lay 
than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." In the prophecy 
of Isaiah, the Almighty is represented as saying, "Behold 



124 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a 
sure foundation. " The apostle Peter, in allusion to this 
language of prophecy, says, "We have come unto Him 
as unto a living stone, disallowed, indeed, of men, but 
chosen of God, and precious." Elsewhere it is said that 
"this stone, which the builders disallowed, is become the 
head-stone of the corner." Truly, this is the Lord's 
doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 

2. Having thus briefly considered the remarks of in- 
spired writers respecting the foundation of this great spir- 
itual building, we now proceed to speak of the building 
itself. And, that we may have a clear understanding of 
this subject, we would here refer to the conclusion of the 
sermon preached by Jesus Christ upon the mount. "Who- 
soever heareth these sayings of mine," says he, "and 
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built 
his house upon a rock ; and the rain descended, and the 
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, 
and it fell not ; for it was founded upon a rock. And every 
one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, 
shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house 
upon the sand ; and the rain descended, and the floods came, 
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell ; 
and great was the fall of it." ISTow, these sayings of Christ 
we must receive as the embodiment of a system of doc- 
trines taught by the prophets in the Old Testament and 
the apostles in the New. The doctrines and precepts 
taught by our Lord Jesus Christ may justly be considered 
as "the faith once delivered to the saints;" and if this 
faith should at any time be assailed by men of corrupt 
minds, it thence becomes our duty to contend for it with 
holy earnestness, and thus maintain in purity the truth as 
it has been delivered to us by the authority of an infallible 
Teacher. 

3- There is an article of faith which is essentially nec- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



125 



essary in building up the Church, and that is, the doctrine 
of Christ's divinity. This doctrine, as taught by Christ 
himself, is shown to be the foundation of the Church of 
God. In a conversation which Christ once had with his 
disciples, the following question was asked, "Whom do 
men say that I, the Son of man, am?" The answer was, 
"Some say that thou art John the Baptist, some say 
Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 9 But 
Jesus further inquired, "Who say ye that I am?" Peter 
responded, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God." Jesus immediately commended Peter for the cor- 
rect answer which he had just given: "For flesh and 
blood," says he, "hath not revealed it unto thee, but my 
Father which is in heaven." But what did the Father 
reveal to Peter? Was it not the glorious doctrine that 
Christ is the divine, the eternal Son of the Father? So 
we understand the words of Christ ; and this view of the 
subject comports with what he elsewhere says: "I and 
my Father are one." If, then, the divine Sonship of 
Christ be the doctrine implied in the language of Peter, 
we are hereby enabled to understand, with greater clear- 
ness, these words, so long misapplied by the Church of 
Rome: "And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and 
upon this rock I will build my Church ; and the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against it." When Christ says, 
"Upon this rock I will build my Church," he is not to be 
understood as alluding to Peter, but rather to the doctrine 
involved in his confession. 

4. According to prophecy, therefore, Jesus Christ is 
"the tried stone, the precious corner-stone," giving stabil- 
ity to the living temple of the Christian dispensation. 
The Church stands firmly on this sure foundation. It has 
stood upon the everlasting Rock since it was first erected 
upon this foundation, which was laid in Zion ; and, not- 
withstanding great changes have taken place in our world 

11* 



126 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



since that period; though empires and kingdoms have 
risen and disappeared, and the mightiest earthly monarchs 
have been hurled from their thrones ; though the earth, 
morally speaking, has been shaken till its very foundations 
were out of course ; though these mutations have oc- 
curred, showing the instability of all human greatness; 
yet the New Testament temple still, as in former ages, 
stands upon the hill of Zion, a monument of the wisdom 
and power of its illustrious Founder. 

5. All true believers have come to Christ as unto a liv- 
ing stone. And hence they are " built up," as Peter says, 
"a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual 
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." The apos- 
tle here evidently alludes to the temple at Jerusalem, 
which, with its services, typified, in many respects, the 
New Testament Church. The following analogies it may 
not be improper here to point out. In the first place, the 
temple of Jerusalem was built after a Divine pattern ; sec- 
ondly, the builders were called to the work by Divine 
authority; thirdly, they were inspired with all the skill 
and wisdom necessary to finish the work according to the 
original pattern ; and, fourthly, the temple, when fin- 
ished and dedicated, was a Divine habitation ; for it was 
there the Almighty manifested himself between the cheru- 
bim of glory shadowing the mercy-seat. According to 
Jude, all persons who walk by faith in Christ, are building 
themselves up according to the system of evangelical doc- 
trines delivered to them, and compose what Peter calls 
"a spiritual house." There is, as we conceive, a special 
reason why the Church of the New Testament is called 
"a spiritual house," in the language of the apostle just 
quoted. Paul teaches that we enjoy, in this dispensation, 
the glorious ministration of the Spirit. " There are diver- 
sities of gifts," says he, "but the same Spirit. And there 
are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



127 



And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same 
•God which worketh all in all." So, if the Church of God 
is established, through the various instrumentalities or- 
dained, we must, nevertheless, acknowledge the excellency 
of the power to be of God and not of man. If there are 
various gifts exercised in the Church, so that all are 
edified, yet " all these worketh that one and the self-same 
spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will ; for as 
the body is one, and hath many members, and all the 
members of that one body, being many, are one body, so 
also is Christ ; for by one Spirit we are all baptized into 
one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be 
bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one 
Spirit." We, therefore, conclude, that the Holy Spirit is 
the great architect to whose hands is intrusted the work 
of building up the temple of God according to the pattern 
shown in the mount. And when this work is done, the 
Church will be strengthened, settled, established. Then 
will God's people be ready to adopt the language of the 
Psalmist: 11 Beautiful for situation is Mount Zion, the joy 
of the whole earth." Then may they say, "We have 
thought of thy loving-kindness, God, in the midst of 
thy temple. Let Mount Zion rejoice ; let the daughters of 
Judah be glad because of thy judgments !" And in this 
spirit of rejoicing they shall walk about Zion, and go 
round about her, and tell the towers thereof, and mark 
well her bulwarks, and consider her palaces, that they 
may tell of these things to the generations following. 

In this sacred temple we have a holy priesthood. Dur- 
ing the Mosaic dispensation, the priests went into the first 
part of the holy place, accomplishing the service of God. 
Here they offered the daily sacrifices. The annual sacri- 
fices, also, were offered by the high-priest, who went into 
the holiest place with the blood of sacrifices, which he 
offered for himself and the errors of the people, 



128 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



Let us here consider the exalted privileges enjoyed 
under the Christian dispensation. We are permitted to 
bring our offerings to the temple of God, and present 
them upon his altar, without the intervention of the priest- 
hood. And we may, without the mediation of any high- 
priest taken from our brethren, enter into the most holy 
place, and offer our sacrifices with full assurance that they 
will be accepted. The grounds of this confidence an in- 
spired writer has stated in the following language: "See- 
ing, then, that we have a great high-priest that is passed 
into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast 
our profession ; for we have not a high -priest that can 
not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; but was 
in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let 
us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that 
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of 
need." Again he says, "We have boldness to enter into 
the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way 
which he hath consecrated for us through the vail ; that is 
to say, his flesh; and having a high-priest over the house 
of God, let us draw near with a true heart, and in full as- 
surance of faith." Yes, brethren, we may bring our 
offerings with unshaken confidence ; for Christ is able to 
save to the uttermost all that come to God through him. 
Has any one a broken and a contrite heart? Let him 
bring that wounded heart to God's altar, and the offering 
shall be accepted. God looks with compassion upon him 
that is of a contrite spirit, and that trembles at his word. 
Do the pious rejoice in God their Savior? Let them bring 
an offering of praise to the altar of incense ; for Christ, 
the mediator, is still before the Father's throne, "present- 
ing our songs," as well as our "complaints." 

Jesus Christ is the apostle and high-priest of our pro- 
fession. He was faithful to Him that appointed him. As 
a servant, Moses was "faithful in all his house, for a 



THE Ni£W TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



129 



testimony of the things which were to be spoken after ; but 
Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are, 
if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the 
hope firm unto the end." Therefore, as a spiritual house, 
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 
we will offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by- 
Jesus Christ. 

III. We proceed to notice, thirdly, the frame- work 

AND GROWTH OF THIS BUILDING! " In WHOM," SAYS THE 
APOSTLE, (( ALL THE BUILDING, FITLY FRAMED TOGETHER, GROW- 
ETH UNTO A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD. 

1 . We remarked previously that the temple at Jerusalem 
was built by Divine authority, and according to a Divine 
pattern. So in regard to the New Testament temple. 
" God, who, at sundry times, and in divers manners, spoke 
unto our fathers by the prophets, hath, in these last days, 
spoken unto us by his Son:" and through him and his 
apostles have we received the pattern of this magnificent 
edifice. And now, every man who is engaged in the work 
of rearing up this building must be a co-worker with God * 
"for we," says Paul, "are laborers together with God; 
ye are God's building." God has given the plan and laid 
the foundation of this building. And "if any man build 
upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, 
hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest: 
for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by 
fire : and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort 
it is." We would here interpret the apostle without a 
figure. We suppose his meaning to be this: that every 
man who teaches the truth as it is in Jesus, and is instru- 
mental in the great work of saving souls, will be rewarded 
according to the nature and amount of his labors. On 
the other hand, those teachers who propagate heresy will 
suffer loss. They will, by no means, receive the approval 
of the Savior, so far as it relates to their public teachings. 



130 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



And if they are saved at all, it will be an escape, as it 
were, from the devouring fires of Divine retribution. The 
apostle certainly teaches, in this place, the necessity of 
understanding the precious truths of the Gospel ; for " they 
are more desirable than gold, yea, than much fine gold." 
Jesus says, " If the Son shall make you free, then shall 
ye be free indeed." The same may be said of truth. 

2. In the epistle to the Romans, the apostle Paul has 
shown how the temple of God is to be fitly framed to- 
gether. "For as we have many members in one body," 
says he, "and all members have not the same office, so 
we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one 
members one of another. Having, then, gifts differing 
according to the grace that is given us, whether prophecy, 
let us prophesy, according to the proportion of faith ; or 
ministry, let us wait on our ministering ; or he that teach- 
eth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation." 
Here we see that the builders engaged in rearing this 
great temple are required, as were those who built the 
temple at Jerusalem, to labor according to the wisdom 
given from above. When God set in the primitive Church 
apostles, evangelists, prophets, pastors, and teachers, the 
design of this variety was manifest: the body of Christ 
was to be edified. And we may here remark, that the 
body of Christ is spoken of in Scripture in allusion both 
to the tabernacle and to the temple. The evangelist John 
says, "The word was made flesh, and dwelt," that is, tab- 
ernacled, "among us." Jesus said to the Jews, "Destroy 
this temple, and in three days I will rebuild it." But he 
spoke of the temple of his body. The New Testament 
Church is now the body of Christ. 

3. In the epistle to the Ephesians, we are shown why 
ii is that God has called men of the various grades of 
talent and ability to promote the great interests of his 
Church. This variety, we learn, is "for the perfecting of 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



131 



the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying 
of the body of Christ : till we all come, in the unity of the 
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a 
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the full- 
ness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, 
tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of 
doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, 
whereby they lie in wait to deceive ; but speaking the 
truth in love may grow up into him in all things, which is 
the head, even Christ : from whom the whole body fitly 
joined together, and compacted by that which every joint 
supplieth, according to the effectual w T orking in the meas- 
ure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the 
edifying of itself in love." 

4. It is said, that, in the preparation for building the 
temple at Jerusalem, the material was prepared according 
to such exact rules, before it was brought to the place 
where the temple was erected, that " there was neither 
hammer, nor ax, nor any tool of iron heard in the house 
while it was in building. ' ■ This fact may serve to illus- 
trate the manner in which the Church of the New Testa- 
ment is to be built. If the doctrines of the Gospel were 
now understood with sufficient clearness, and if the duties 
which the Gospel enjoins were observed with that strict- 
ness which their importance demands, then, indeed, would 
the temple of God be fitly framed together; then would 
there be both compactness and strength ; then would be 
seen the two pillars — Jachin and Boaz — the emblems of 
strength and stability, standing erect in the porch of our 
temple. The nations from afar would soon hear of the 
fame of this house, and its glory would be spoken of in 
all lands. 

5. We will now proceed to speak of the growth of this 
building. Our text says it "groweth unto a holy temple 
in the Lord." There are two respects in which this 



132 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



growth may be considered : First, the growth of individ- 
ual believers ; and, secondly, the growth of the whole col- 
lective body of Christians. "Of this glorious Church," 
as Dr. Clarke observes, "each Christian soul is an epitome ; 
for as God dwells in the Church at large, so he dwells in 
every believer in particular : each is a habitation of God, 
through the Spirit." This is undoubtedly a correct and 
Scriptural view of the subject. "Know ye not," says 
Paul, "that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit 
of God dwelleth in you? If any man defiles the temple 
of God, him shall God destroy : for the temple of God is 
holy, which temple ye are." It was in view of the 
danger of violating the sanctity of this temple, that Peter 
admonishes us to beware, lest being led away with the 
error of the wicked, we should fall from our steadfastness. 
"But grow in grace," says he, "and in the knowledge of 
our Lord Jesus Christ." This growth in grace implies an 
increased refinement of the moral feelings ; or, in other 
words, an increase of that "holiness without which no 
man shall see the Lord." As "holiness becometh the 
house of God," so the believer serves God in "the beauty 
of holiness." His motto is, " Holiness to the Lord !" Be- 
ing cleansed from all moral defilement, he "perfects holi- 
ness in the fear of God." And in this state of moral rec- 
titude, there is a meetness for a higher and better state of 
existence; even the blissful abodes of "the saints in 
light." 

But there will doubtless be, in the heavenly world, a 
perpetual increase of Divine knowledge and enjoyment. 
Let us here observe the contrast between the present and 
future states of the pious, as drawn by the apostle Paul. 
"Here," he tells us, "we see through a glass darkly: we 
know in part, and we prophesy in part ;" but in heaven 
we shall see "face to face;" our vision there will not be 
obscured nor bounded by mortality, which shall be "swal- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



133 



lowed up of life." There we shall know, even as we are 
known. Our knowledge there will not depend upon those 
dull and tardy processes of thought to which we are now 
accustomed. Dwelling no longer in houses of clay, we 
shall, in that magnificent building, "the house not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens, " acquire knowledge 
with wondrous rapidity ; the facilities for intellectual and 
moral improvement being increased beyond any thing 
which it is possible for us here to conceive. And this im- 
provement shall be eternal. Ages in heaven may roll on, 
and still the glorified inhabitants of that world of blessed- 
ness shall increase in knowledge with a steady progres- 
sion. They shall be greatly aided, too, by the teachings 
of Him whose knowledge is infinite; for "the Lamb that 
is in the midst of the throne shall lead them to living 
fountains of water" — shall unfold to their minds the won- 
drous scheme of redemption, which all the intelligences 
of heaven desire to understand. Thus shall their knowl- 
edge and bliss perpetually increase. 

We would notice, secondly, the growth of the Church 
in regard to numbers. The earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of the Lord. The Gospel of Messiah's king- 
dom is to be preached till "all shall know the Lord, from 
the least even unto the greatest." Then shall the prophecy 
of Isaiah be fulfilled: "The mountain of the Lord's 
house shall be established in the top of the mountains, 
and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall 
flow unto it." The results of this exaltation shall be glo- 
rious. Zion shall become a praise in all the earth. The 
saints of the Most High shall then possess the kingdom, 
and shall bear rule till the principalities, and powers, and 
the rulers of the darkness of this world, and all spiritual 
wickedness in high places shall be effectually cast down. 
Then shall the Church keep a glorious jubilee, and "the 
ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion, with 

12 



134 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



songs and everlasting joy upon their heads." All super- 
stition and corrupt forms of religion shall then disappear 
from among men, and "the gods that made not the 
heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth, and 
from under these heavens/' Every heathen temple shall 
then be deserted, Mohammedanism shall be overthrown, 
and "mystery Babylon" shall fall to rise no more. God's 
ancient people — the Jews — shall then turn and "look on 
Him whom they have pierced," and shall acknowledge him 
as the true Messiah. Then shall come in " the fullness of 
the Gentiles;" the universal spread of Christianity, ac- 
complishing the fulfillment of prophecy, which points out 
the triumphant reign of Him whose kingdom ruleth over 
all. The great influx of nations to God's holy mountain 
shall then be witnessed; "and many people shall go and 
say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the 
Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach 
us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths." The law 
shall then go forth out of Zion, and the distant isles that 
have long waited for that law shall receive it. Even "the 
multitude of isles shall be glad," and the whole habitable 
earth shall rejoice in view of the triumphs of Messiah's 
reign. In every place shall mercy and truth meet to- 
gether, and righteousness and peace shall kiss each other. 
Hostilities between belligerent nations shall cease, and all 
the implements of warfare shall be converted into imple- 
ments of husbandry, and every military school and acad- 
emy shall be left destitute of patronage. In all God's 
holy mountain there shall be exemption from injuries ; de- 
structions shall there come to a perpetual end. The song 
which angels chanted at the advent of Messiah, shall 
again be sung by all those shining legions who shall awake 
the mighty symphony around the throne in heaven, and 
every true worshiper on earth shall catch the inspiration 
from above as he repeats the heaven -inspired chorus, 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



135 



" Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, and good- 
will to men." 

IV. We notice, in the fourth place, the union of 
Jews and Gentiles in the establishing of the Church 
of God. 

1. The apostle Paul says, "Ye are builded together." 
In this union all national prejudices ceased. They be- 
came one in Christ Jesus. They were taught that in him 
there was "neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, 
neither male nor female." All became one in Christ, and 
were united into one body. Hence, they kept the unity 
of the Spirit. The prayer of Jesus, recorded by the evan- 
gelist John, was answered in a remarkable manner in the 
union of Jews and Gentiles into one visible Church organ- 
ization. After praying for his immediate followers, Jesus 
then prayed for those who should afterward believe on him 
through the preaching of the apostles. "Neither pray I 
for these alone," says he, "but for them also which shall 
believe on me through their word ; that they all may be 
one ; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they 
may be also one in us." 

2. God's design to bestow the blessing of his salvation 
upon the Gentiles was made known by revelation. It was 
revealed to Peter in a vision ; and when he explained this 
subject to the people, they rejoiced that God had granted 
repentance to the Gentiles. St. Paul also declares that 
the calling of the Gentiles was made known to him by 
revelation. He styles himself "the prisoner of Jesus 
Christ for the Gentiles;" and he taught that they should 
be fellow-heirs with the Jews, and, consequently, entitled 
to a full participation of all the blessings and benefits of 
the Gospel dispensation. 

3. The text shows why the Jews and Gentiles who were 
converted to Christianity were united together in one 
body. In this state of unity they were to become "a 



136 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



habitation of God through the Spirit. " God dwelt in 
the ancient temple at Jerusalem, and there was the visible 
manifestation of his presence and glory. But he no 
longer manifests himself to his people by any visible 
symbol. In this dispensation, which is surpassing in the 
plenitude of its glory, he dwells with all his true worship- 
ers by the spirit which is given them. And he now seeks 
such worshipers as call upon him spiritually — such as 
sing and pray with the spirit and with the understanding 
also. 

4. Let us consider a little further that great principle 
by which the Jews and Gentiles were united together as 
members of the same visible Church. They were all of 
one heart and one mind. The love of God united them 
in one common brotherhood, and they gave, in this union, 
an admirable illustration of the doctrine taught by the 
apostle John: " He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, 
and God in him." They put on that charity which is the 
"bond of perfectness," and their union and fellowship 
should be the model for the Church in all succeeding ages. 

5. Finally : we would speak of the superior glory of the 
New Testament temple. Isaiah, whose prophetic eye 
beheld the rising glories of the Christian dispensation, 
thus addressed the Church: "Arise, shine; for thy light 
is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." 
And this glory was to eclipse the luminaries of heaven in 
all their brightness. "The sun," says Isaiah, "shall be 
no more thy light by day ; neither for brightness shall the 
moon give light unto thee : but the Lord shall be unto 
thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory." It 
may in truth be said that "the glory of this latter house 
shall exceed the glory of the former." It is even now so 
glorious, that, were the ancient one still standing upon the 
hill of Zion, retaining all its former magnificence, it would 
have comparatively little glory, " by reason of the glory 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



137 



that excelled.' ' We may, with propriety, speak of this 
consecrated temple as did the Psalmist respecting the 
house of God at Jerusalem: "One thing have I desired, 
that will I seek after : that I may dwell in the house of 
the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of 
the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.' ■ How pleasurable 
are the hours thus devoted to the worship of the true 
God! 

The Psalmist "beheld the beauty of the Lord" as he 
inquired in his temple, and so may we; for "out of Zion, 
the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." As in the 
work of the visible creation God commanded the light to 
shine out of darkness, so he still shines forth. Not only 
do the visible heavens declare the glory of God, but also 
the uncreated splendors of the Divinity are manifested 
through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. This glory 
is revealed to man as a moral being. It shines into his 
heart; and herein we behold "the excellent glory" of the 
Church. It is not an effulgence too bright to be gazed 
upon; not as the brightness of the Divine glory upon 
Mount Sinai, which seemed as devouring fire; but the 
calm and steady light of God's countenance, shining upon 
the believer's heart and upon his pathway all the day long. 
And this glory shall be perpetual. "As the mountains 
are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about 
his people, from this time forth, and even forever." He 
will ever defend the glory of his people, Israel. The 
prophet Isaiah, while contemplating the Divine protection 
vouchsafed to the Church, thus prophesies of her future 
prosperity and glory: "And the Lord will create upon 
every dwelling-place of Mount Zion and upon her assem- 
blies a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a 
flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory shall be a 
defense." In strict accordance with prophecy, "the city 
of our solemnities," the place where all our solemn sacri- 

12* 



138 



THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE. 



fices are offered, is still "a quiet habitation." God is still 
our refuge and strength. He is in his holy temple ; and 
while we find it written, " The Lord loveth the gates of 
Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob," we will rejoice 
as did the Psalmist, when it was said to him, "Let us go 
up to the house of the Lord." "Thither the tribes go 
up ;" for there is the place of rest and security. There, 
too, is the house of prayer for all nations. It was built 
for their accommodation, and shall stand till time shall be 
no longer. In vain may "the heathen rage" against it, 
or "the people imagine" that it may be destroyed; for 
the Son of God still reigns upon the hill of Zion, and 
"appoints salvation for walls and bulwarks." In vain 
may "that wicked one," the usurper of Divine rights, 
"sit in the temple of God," and arrogate to himself the 
honors of Divinity. God shall destroy him "with the 
brightness of his coming," and thus defend the glory of 
his holy temple. In vain may infidelity hope for the de- 
struction of this towering edifice, or boisterous elements 
threaten its overthrow. The rains, and storms, and floods 
of eighteen centuries have beat with great violence against 
this noble building, the New Testament temple ; but its 
glittering spires are still seen upon the hights of God's 
holy mountain ; nor shall the wrath of man, nor the rage 
of devils, nor all the combined agencies of earth and hell, 
effect the demolition of this temple, which has so long 
been consecrated to the service of Him that dwelleth 
between the cherubim. 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 



139 



SEKMON X. 

BY REV. GEORGE C. CRTJM. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 

"And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart; 
and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of 
them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the 
way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt 
bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets 
between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy 
house, and upon thy gates," Deuteronomy vi, 6-9. 

The children of the present age are the hope of the age 
to come. We are now playing our parts in the great 
drama of life ; but we shall soon pass from the stage. 
Time is sweeping onward, and every day laying some of 
us to sleep in the house appointed for all the living. In 
thirty years, another generation will stand where we do. 
Other men and women will think, and speak, and act for 
the world — will set forth an example, and put in motion 
an influence, which will fill the world with happiness or 
woe, when we are bowing under the weight of years, or 
gone to our final reckoning with God. 

And who are they that shall take our places, and suc- 
ceed us in the great duties and interests of life? Our 
sons and daughters, for whom we are now so tenderly 
anxious — over whom we now weep and pray; or, perhaps, 
whom we now neglect, and leave to roam at will over town 
and country, and who, meanwhile, are forming habits 
which shall compel them to a life of sin, and an end of 
shame and infamy. 

It is, therefore, an inquiry of immense importance, 
What can we do to benefit and save our children ? Shall 
we entail upon them misery and sin ? shall we send thein 
to the next generation as living witnesses of our folly and 



140 



THE IMPORTANCE OF 



wickedness ? The thought is shocking ! What, then, can 
we do to secure to them the boon of wisdom, virtue, and 
happiness ? Something can be done ; something must be 
done, or they will prove to the next age a shameful be- 
quest, an unmitigated curse. I repeat the question, with 
intense solicitude, What can we do ? I find an answer in 
the Bible: ' 'Train up a child in the way he should go, 
and when he is old he will not depart from it." The 
meaning of this divine precept is, educate them; and, in 
doing this, regard their nature, the duties they are to 
fulfill, and the destiny that awaits them in a future world. 

The nature of man is threefold — physical, intellectual, 
and moral. Each of these forms the basis of a kind of 
education peculiar to itself, and to educate him as such 
requires different and distinct modes of training. 

There is much said and written, at present, upon the 
subject of education. The old-fashioned systems of our 
fathers are thrown aside as worthless ; new plans are 
invented, and then again new methods proposed, to bring 
these plans to perfection with the least possible delay. I 
find no fault with this. I censure not the progressive 
spirit of the age. On the contrary, I rejoice in the dis- 
coveries of science, and hail them, not only as new indica- 
tions of human greatness, but as new and heaven-sent 
facilities of human happiness and moral elevation. I 
would estimate knowledge, even in this respect, at a price 
above rubies, and to be chosen rather than fine gold. 
But I do complain that, with the multitude, intellectual 
education is every thing, and moral education nothing, 
or almost nothing. I do complain that, while men are 
willing to lay out thousands to train their sons in college, 
scarcely a dollar can be afforded to the Sunday school, 
the object of which is to train them to virtue and religion. 

Do not misconceive me. I would not put down intel- 
lectual learning ; but I would elevate religious learning. 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 141 

I would magnify the Sunday school. I would give it the 
first place in the first rank of educational measures. For, 
however important the attainment of human science may 
be, the attainment of moral principle and virtuous habits 
is infinitely more so. Neglect the religious training of 
your child, and, however splendid his intellectual accom- 
plishments may be, he is totally unfit for the duties and 
responsibilities of life, and the solemn scenes that await 
him when done with the present fleeting and temporary 
existence. Such a one is like a beautiful vessel upon a 
stormy sea, gayly painted, with every sail set, and stream- 
ers fluttering in the breeze, but without rudder, chart, or 
compass, drifting with every current, and driving with 
every wind, and destined, at last, to founder at sea, or be 
dashed in pieces against the rocks. 

The grand reason for moral and religious instruction is 
found in the constitution of man. He is a moral being ; 
he has moral susceptibilities ; he is the subject of moral 
law, capable of moral action ; he can be wise and good, or 
he can be ignorant and wicked. Such is your child. 
Yes ; that beloved child, the miniature of yourself, which 
you fold, with deepest and purest affection, to your bosom, 
possesses these high endowments. It may know the infi- 
nite and ever-blessed Jehovah ; it may love him with a 
pure and unutterable affection ; it may enjoy him with a 
rapture and a relish but a little lower than the angels. 
Here, then, are the reasons for religious instruction — 
reasons woven into the very texture of our being, and 
forming a part of our moral constitution. They speak with 
a voice loud and clear; and no new revelation, though 
attended with all the signs and wonders of the past, could 
more fully declare the mind of God in regard to our duty, 
than do these reasons, speaking up from the depths of our 
inmost nature. 

Permit me, now, to bring before you a few leading 



142 



THE IMPORTANCE OF 



thoughts, that shall more directly illustrate the importance 
of early religious instruction. 

1. One of the first facts to which I would call your 
attention is, our children will be educated. True, they 
may never enter the village school-room or the halls of the 
university ; yet such is their nature, and such the circum- 
stances of their being, that they will be educated. It is 
not for us to say whether these children shall receive 
mental and moral culture ; they will receive it. So ex- 
quisite are their susceptibilities, that to neglect their train- 
ing in wisdom and piety, is to educate them in ignorance 
and sin. Your child may be denied the ordinary means 
of instruction ; but there is a school kept at home, and 
there it will be trained for weal or woe, though it may 
never open a book or learn a letter. Yes ; the scenes and 
examples of its own fireside will print lessons of good or 
evil upon its mind, the effects of which will be seen and 
felt through every period of its future life. Society, too, 
shall become his instructor ; and it will stamp him with its 
own character of good or evil. His public resorts and 
his private interviews will furnish him lessons of healthful 
or ruinous tendency. There he will imbibe principles 
which will shed luster upon maturer life, or which will 
develop themselves in future guilt, shame, and disgrace. 
There he will learn to fear God and keep his commands, 
or to blaspheme his name and trample upon his sacred 
laws. There he will be led in the path of purity and 
religion, or be lured, by wicked counsels, into the broad 
way of sin and death. In view of these facts, what an 
importance attaches to religious training ! Your child will 
be educated. Shall that education be right or wrong? 
Shall he be virtuous and happy, or shall he be vicious 
and miserable? In the name of your child I demand 
your decision. 

2. Pernicious and even destructive elements are devel- 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 



143 



oping in the heart of your child. " The heart/' says the 
Bible, "is deceitful and desperately wicked." The cor- 
ruption of our nature displays itself at an early age. 
The seeds of sin have been thickly sown there, and in the 
very twilight of its being we see them sprouting forth. 
The deadly virus of depravity taints the babe and the 
child, as well as the old and gray-haired sinner ; and, as 
years roll on, the proofs increase, both in number and 
in energy. Almost in the infancy of being may be seen 
the little shoots of pride, of self-will, of impatience, of 
anger, of insubordination. They are small at first; but 
they grow, spreading their roots, and pushing them far 
down in the soil of a depraved nature, till, interlaced and 
bound around the heart, no human art or energy can 
free it from their grasp. No mountain oak, striking its 
roots by fathoms into the earth, ever stood so firmly. 
Xeglect these beginnings of evil, and your child enters 
the pathway of sin. The tares which the devil has sown 
will spring up and bear seed, and this seed shall bring- 
forth a fresh crop of evils, and then this be followed by 
another, and another, till the harvest of corruption is fully 
ripe, when it shall be reaped and bound for everlasting 
fires. 

This is no fancy picture, but plain and sober truth. 
Such is the nature of these evils, and such their laws of 
progress and development, that these results must ensue. 
Time will not cure them, nor age transmute them into vir- 
tues. On the contrary, they will enlarge in size and grow 
in strength, till they become the complete masters of the 
soul — masters whose chains are iron and whose bondage 
is death. I know of no remedy for this but a religious 
education ; and this, by God's blessing, is a remedy. 
Religious truth is not only counteractive of evil, but 
destructive of it ; and, if the youthful mind is brought 
under its influence, the seeds of sin will perish, and the 



144 



THE IMPORTANCE OF 



beautiful graces of wisdom and religion will spring up 
and bloom in their places. 

We are told by some who affect to be wise, that chil- 
dren are not to be biased and prejudiced by religious 
opinions. Let them alone, say these wise moralists. Do 
not trouble them with your Bibles and your prayers. Let 
them be till they arrive at maturity ; then they will act 
from honest convictions, and choose for themselves with 
propriety and discretion. Now, all this would have some 
show of reason, if the heart were innocent and free from 
native evils — if it could remain unoccupied by sin and un- 
corrupted by evil. But what are the facts? Simply 
these : they go astray from the birth, and foolishness is 
bound up in their hearts. Deep in the soul there is a 
living, active principle of evil. It permeates the whole 
moral system, and sends its poison along every nerve and 
through every vein. Meanwhile, evil influences come 
from every point, and evil examples multiply on every 
hand, each alluring them into the flowery but fatal path 
of sin. This, then, is a deceitful philosophy — in plain 
words a devilish artifice, the effect of which is to insnare 
and destroy all who can be brought under its influence. 
I knew a young man whose history and fate may show us 
what it is to be let alone. He was the son of fond and 
doting parents. He had every advantage for cultivation ; 
no money was spared to make him an accomplished man. 
But his religious culture was neglected. He was never 
taught to pray, to read the word of God, or reverence the 
holy Sabbath. ISo pious example was before him ; no 
attempt was made to check the evil tendencies of his 
nature. His habits were early confirmed. He came into 
manhood with the stamp of evil upon his face, and a 
slave to the most brutal appetites. I saw him at this 
time. His eyes were inflamed and sunken ; his counte- 
nance bloated and livid, and his limbs swollen and totter- 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 145 

ing. Although but in the morning of manhood, the 
lines of old age were deeply carved upon his haggard 
face. But his career of sin was short: he died an old 
man at twenty-five, the victim of strong drink and brutal 
lust. Do you shudder at the picture of this wretched 
youth, whose form, like a shadow, even now flits before 
me ? Would you avert from your darling boy a fate like 
his? Then avoid the rock on which his bark was 
wrecked. Neglect not his religious training. Remember 
the evil tendencies of his nature ; now they may be con- 
trolled, but they will soon be beyond your reach. Time 
will give them an energy and fixedness which will bid 
defiance to every effort. They will grow with his growth, 
and strengthen with his strength, and ripen with his age ; 
and at last he will reap, in anguish and despair, the bitter 
fruits of parental neglect. 

3. A third consideration is, youth furnishes peculiar 
advantages for religious instruction. The mind is now 
more susceptible of religious culture than at any other 
period. It is now more tender and yielding. The foun- 
tains of feeling have not been frozen by contact with the 
world, nor the heart hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 
As the soft wax receives and retains the impression of 
the seal, so the young heart receives and retains the 
imprint of virtuous principle and the mold of religious 
character. 

At this period it is comparatively easy to arrest the 
attention, to win the affections, and move the soul by the 
beautiful and affecting truths of our holy religion. Who 
has not marked the interest of the child in the touching 
stories of the Bible, and seen his face beam with pleasure 
as you told him of God and his works, of heaven and its 
joys, of Jesus and his bleeding love? Yes; in that 
young heart there are feelings and susceptibilities that we 
can not overrate, and that we must not, under the most 

13 



146 



THE IMPORTANCE OF 



awful penalties, overlook. This bright season, with its 
mellow soil and shining hours, soon, too soon, departs. 

"The beam of the morning, the bud of the spring, 
The promise of beanty and brightness may bring; 
But clouds gather darkness, and, touched by the frost, 
The pride of the plant and the morning are lost. 
Thus the bright and the beautiful ever decay; 
Life's morn and life's flowers — 0, they quick pass away!" 

Spring, with its budding beauties and fragrant blossoms, 
does not continue all the year. It is speedily followed by 
the fervid summer, sober autumn, and the dreary snows 
of winter. If you would have green and growing fields 
in summer, ripened harvests in autumn, and rich stores 
for comfort and repose in winter, good seed must be sown 
in the spring. 

In connection with this, it is important to remember 
that, at this period, the operations of the Spirit are more 
frequent and powerful than at any other time. How 
early these impressions are we can not say, but we know 
enough by observation and experience to say very early. 
With many of us, these stand among the first records of 
memory. We can remember far back in the morning of 
childhood, the communings of the Spirit with our hearts, 
when, with gentle force, it withheld us from evil, and 
inclined us to good. How oft, under its promptings, have 
we left the sports of the village green, and gone to the 
chamber alone, to pour out our young hearts in prayer S 
0, these were holy impulses, and ever to be remembered 
as the first efforts of Heaven to lead us in the paths of 
virtue. And when we reflect that, without Divine aiJ, 
our efforts are fruitless, how obvious is it that this is the 
time for prompt and persevering effort ! We can put forth 
no desire ; we can offer no prayer ; we can impart no 
truth, that is not met by a corresponding effort of the 
divine Spirit. Upon the youthful mind he ever sheds 
holy influences, which, like rain and sunbeams, soften and 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 



147 



warm the soil upon which we are casting the seeds of im- 
mortal life. 

4. The importance of early moral training will be fur- 
ther manifest, if we consider the demands of the age in 
which we live. The present is a remarkable age — dis- 
tinguished by great events, which portend much of good 
or evil to mankind. The grand idea of the age, is self- 
government, and it is rapidly becoming the universal one. 
The heart of the world is throbbing and swelling with this 
great thought, and the nations are swaying to and fro 
under its power, like the forest before a mighty wind. It 
is like a huge giant, striding from kingdom to kingdom, 
and marching, in terrible grandeur, round the world. Now 
he hurls the haughty despot from his seat of power, and 
levels his throne to the earth. Beneath his feet lie broken 
crowns and scepters, and in his train follow excited na- 
tions, delirious with the prospect of liberty, and rending 
the heavens with their shouts of freedom and equality. 
The most ancient forms of government totter, and the 
very foundations of society feel the shock. The only 
hope of our own and other nations, is in the training up 
of generations, who, from their very cradles, shall have 
the fear of God planted in their hearts. Our hope is not 
in fleets and armies, in cannon and bayonets, nor in the 
skill and sagacity of statesmen, but in a sound Christian 
education. I do not hesitate to say, that, under our own 
government, glorious as it is, constitutions, and laws, and 
judges are the veriest mockeries, unless the rising genera- 
tion be trained to wisdom and virtue. 

The kind of men demanded by the age, then, are self- 
governing men — men whose minds are swayed by high 
moral principle — who fear God, and hate the wages of 
unrighteousness. Without these, the best political and 
literary institutions are of no avail. What an illustration 
of this have we in the free governments of South America ! 



148 



THE IMPORTANCE OF 



Of liberty they have been but a shameful burlesque ; and 
that Eden-like clime has been converted into a hell by 
the bad passions of men. There despotism, with iron 
crown and scepter, has held fierce and fearful rule; and 
anarchy, more dreadful still, rioted in fields of blood and 
slaughter. And the reason is, they have no religion, or 
next to none. The masses are sunk in ignorance and 
crime, without the fear of God, or a sense of moral obli- 
gation. 

At this age of the world, men must and will govern 
themselves. If you would prevent it, you must handcuff 
and spike them down in dungeons, where the free light 
and breezes of heaven shall never visit them. But they 
can never govern themselves without the fear of God and 
the restraints of religion. Nor can we preserve even the 
semblance of liberty, unless our sons and daughters are 
trained up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 

But the age demands not only God-fearing legislators, 
and a people wise and virtuous ; it demands ministers of 
religion, and missionaries of the cross, to carry the Gos- 
pel to the ends of the earth. At this very time, the isles 
of the ocean wait for His law ; Asia lifts an imploring eye 
to heaven, and Ethiopia is seen stretching out her hands 
unto God. Benighted nations, who have so long sat in 
darkness, are to-day asking for the Bible and the mission- 
ary. The age demands thousands of devoted men and 
women, who, with the zeal of Paul and the burning love 
of John, shall go forth to proclaim salvation to a lost and 
dying world. 

Parents, we want your sons to be pillars in our Churches, 
and to stand in these pulpits when we have passed away. 
We want them to go to the isles of the ocean — to go to 
the burning sands of Africa — to carry light into the dark 
heart of Asia — to go every- where, preaching Christ and 
him crucified. Where shall we find them ? Among these 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 149 

children of the Sabbath school. We are too selfish and 
money-loving for such a high calling. We want a new 
generation, better trained, better taught, more benevolent 
and more self-sacrificing than we. We want men who, 
like Samuel, have been trained in the house of the Lord, 
and women who, like Phebe and Priscilla, will be helpers 
in Christ Jesus. Bring these children, then, to the Savior; 
let them be taught at his feet, and baptized in his blood. 
Teach them to value souls more than money ; eternity 
more than time. Imbue their minds with the sacred prin- 
ciples of religion. Consecrate them not to mammon, but 
to God ; not to the world, but to the Church — to the work 
of saving souls and rescuing immortal minds from the 
thralldom of sin and Satan. This, I repeat, the age de- 
mands ; nor can we meet the awful responsibilities of the 
times if we neglect the moral training of the young. 

5. We arrive at the same conclusion if we look forward 
to the future world. The present life is only the thresh- 
old of existence, and but a moment compared with eter- 
nity. If a man has no deathless spirit; if his nature and 
his destiny rise no higher than the mere brute ; if, when 
he dies, the light of his being is quenched forever, then 
let him alone ; let him eat and drink, for to-morrow he 
dies. But if he has an immortal soul, that shall survive 
the dissolution of nature ; and if its happiness or woe, 
through endless ages, is to flow from its moral character, 
how inconceivably important must it be to train it for its 
coming immortality! A mind unacquainted with itself, 
with its God, His redeeming mercy and his pardoning love ; 
unacquainted with its duties and its destiny ; its faculties 
locked up in ignorance, and almost blotted out by sin, 
must be utterly unfitted for the associations and employ- 
ments of the heavenly world. Whereas, a mind trained 
to knowledge and piety will be prepared to enter upon 
that world where its faculties shall continue to expand, 

13* 



150 



THE IMPORTANCE OF 



and its knowledge and happiness to increase forever. And 
when we reflect upon the brevity of life, and the rapidity 
with which it is passing ; that, like a vapor, it appeareth 
for a little while and then vanisheth away, how import- 
ant it is to begin early, to husband every moment, and to 
improve every favoring influence ! 

" The Indian mother, who hangs her child to the bough 
of a tree, and hums her wood-song while the winds rock 
it to sleep, thinks no further than to rear it a hunter or a 
warrior." The man of the world has no higher end than 
to see his child wealthy and popular, courted and flattered 
by the rich and the great. But Christians must rise above 
such low, unworthy aims. Their object must be to train 
their children for eternity — for the service of God to ever- 
lasting ages. True, you may not rear up an apostle here, 
but you may rear up an angel hereafter. You may not 
see your child the object of admiration here ; but hereaf- 
ter you may see him stand among the redeemed at the 
right hand of God. 

6. In fine, the importance of early religious training 
may be seen in the light of the Bible. In every age, and 
with an energy and distinctness not to be mistaken, God 
has spoken upon this subject. Three passages, giving ut- 
terance to the mind of God, under three several dispensa- 
tions, will be sufficient authority: "Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
and these words shall be in thy heart. And thou shalt 
teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of 
them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou 
walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when 
thou risest up ; and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon 
thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine 
eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine 
house and upon thy gates;" "Train up a child in the way 
he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 15 1 

it « ' And ye, fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, 
but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the 
Lord." Thus has God spoken; this is his will. And if 
he has thus prescribed and enjoined the religious educa- 
tion of children, the question is forever settled, both in 
regard to its importance and our duty. When we appre- 
ciate his will upon this subject, and carry out his wise 
and benevolent provisions, then shall our sons be as plants 
grown up in their youth, and our daughters shall be as 
corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace. 

I proceed to remark, in the second place, that Sunday 
schools are peculiarly adapted to this great end. To see 
this : 

1. Mark the great principle upon which they proceed. 
It is this : the child has a moral nature ; he is capable of 
receiving and exerting moral influence ; he has moral sus- 
ceptibilities that may be brought out and improved by 
culture. The Sunday school contemplates the child in his 
relations to the present and the future world, and its object 
is to prepare him for the duties of the one, and the sub- 
lime and endless pleasures of the other. These views 
alone harmonize with the higher nature of man, and that 
splendid destiny which awaits him when time is no more. 
Every system of education is defective and incomplete 
precisely in proportion as these great principles are over- 
looked or forgotten. 

2. Now mark their operation. This is simple but effi- 
cient. The instrument employed is the Bible — the living 
and incorruptible word of God. This wonderful system 
of truth the child is taught to read and study. By this 
means he is made acquainted with the will of God, his 
nature and perfections. Here he is taught the great du- 
ties of religion — repentance, faith, conversion, obedience 
to parents, and kindness and love to all. Here, too, he 
is taught to hallow the name of God, and to reverence the 



152 



THE IMPORTANCE OF 



holy Sabbath. The evils of sin are here portrayed, and a 
loud voice of warning lifted against all impiety and trans- 
gression. Unceasing efforts are here put forth to inspire 
the love of truth, wisdom, virtue, and goodness, and then 
the whole is impressed with songs of praise and supplica- 
tions to God for his aid and blessing. Such a system as 
this is adapted to the moral ends proposed. It will secure 
attention. It will win the heart, and, under the Divine 
favor, will repress the growth of evil and implant the 
seeds of a wise and virtuous life. True, the results may 
not immediately appear, but precious fruit will be gathered 
after many days. It is said that in the hand of an Egyp- 
tian mummy was found a bulbous root, which, being- 
planted in the earth, grew and bloomed a beautiful but- 
unknown flower, after two hundred years. Some years 
since, a venerable man, upward of one hundred years old, 
was the subject of converting grace, in one of the eastern 
states. The circumstance which led to this, was hearing 
a text of Scripture which his pious mother had taught 
him in England, one hundred years before. It is thus 
the seeds of virtue and religion are sown in the infant 
mind, which shall, sooner or later, spring up and bring- 
forth fruit unto life eternal. 

3. Their almost universal adoption, as a means promo- 
tive of this end, deserves a thought. Sabbath schools 
are comparatively of recent origin — but little more than 
threescore years having elapsed since they were instituted. 
It was early perceived that this mode of instruction con- 
tained within it the elements of a richer inheritance for 
the young than mere earthly estates. Their influence 
upon the present and the future was distinctly and joyfully 
traced. This operated as a kind of universal stimulus. 
The pious and benevolent felt the impulse, and, one after 
another, like stars coming forth amid the shadows of the 
night, these little seminaries of virtue began to appear 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 153 

over the land, and send forth their beams to guide the 
young to the feet of Jesus. And they have still continued 
to grow and multiply, in countless numbers and irresisti- 
ble influence. They have spread almost over the globe. 
On every continent and isle of the ocean, where the Bible 
is known, there the Sunday school exists. They have 
found a place in every Church, a friend in every philan- 
thropist; and philosophers, statesmen, and divines have 
spoken in their praise, and eloquently pleaded in their be- 
half. The eminent and gifted, the benevolent and patri- 
otic, have regarded them with admiration, and contributed 
to their success by their example and influence. They 
have seen in them the means of regenerating the world, 
and of elevating the race from ignorance and sin, to wis- 
dom, purity, and happiness. 

4. Let us now glance at what has been accomplished. 
And here we can point to the most brilliant results — re- 
sults that shall gladden the universe and glorify the 
Savior, when the achievements of philosophers and states- 
men have been forgotten. The ignorant have been in- 
structed, and the perverse and wicked reclaimed. They 
have remedied the negligence of parents ; they have given 
the hopes and comforts of religion to families, and sent 
their peaceful and hallowing influences, like streams of 
life, over whole communities. The Sunday school is giv- 
ing intelligence and virtue to the people, statesmen and 
philosophers to the country, active and devoted members 
to the Church, and redeemed souls to heaven. "They 
have sometimes, as with the rod of Moses, smitten a rock, 
from which has gushed forth living waters, for the refresh- 
ment of nations." Dr. Morrison, who unsealed the Bible 
to the three hundred millions of China, was taught and 
trained in the Sunday school. Many of the most efficient 
ministers, the most devoted and successful missionaries, 
who have gone to the dark places of the earth, and are 



154 



THE IMPORTANCE OF 



now rending the vail of heathenism, and revealing the 
Sun of righteousness with healing in his wings, were 
trained in the Sunday school, and there converted to God. 
They have improved the moral atmosphere of the world, 
and will ultimately make it as a garden which the Lord 
hath blessed. They are fountains of mercy to a perishing- 
world — trees, whose leaves are for the healing of the 
nations. 

A few words, addressed to the patriot, the Christian, the 
teacher, and the parent, will conclude our remarks. 

As the friend of your country, you would perpetuate 
her existence, and hand down her civil and religious priv- 
ileges to future o-enerations. Ignorance and sin are our 

o o o 

worst enemies ; they strike at the very foundation of our 
liberties, and will, if not counteracted, overwhelm us in 
anarchy and ruin. Our strength is not in fleets and 
armies, but in the intelligence and virtue of the people. 
These are our true safeguards ; with these we fear no for- 
eign foe, no civil discord. "0, if the fire on our altars 
ever goes out; if ever another Jeremiah shall sing the 
funeral dirge over our nation's grave, it will be because 
we have forgotten to teach our children to do justly, to 
love mercy, and to walk humbly with God." 

Christians ! not only are these children the hope of the 
state, but of the Church. They are to preach and pray, 
and send forth the light of their example, when you have 
gone to your eternal reward. If the world is to have a 
Christian in it, in the next generation, he is to rise up 
from among these little ones. The only hope of the* 
world's conversion is through their instrumentality. Can - 
you, dare you, withhold the means and the labor necessary 
to success ? No ; enter the Sunday school, give it your 
support, and consecrate your energies to this grand enter- 
prise, which is to fill the world with zealous Christians, 
and heaven with redeemed spirits. Gather in the poor 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 



155 



and outcast of your city, clothe them, bring them into 
your Sunday school, and teach them the way to heaven. 
Along your streets and alleys there goes many a ragged 
child, who, trained in the Sunday school, might rival in 
wisdom a Clarke, in eloquence a Summerfield, in mission- 
ary zeal a Coke or a Judson. Let no Christian complain 
of expense or of labor. It is the cause of the Church, of 
humanity, of the bleeding Savior. 

Teachers !* I see many before me, at the head of their 
respective classes, who bear this honored name. I would 
stimulate you in your work. Your office has nothing ex- 
ternally attractive to recommend it to the man of the 
world. It confers no worldly distinction; it leads to no 
earthly ease or pleasure ; it has no recompense of gold or 
silver. But is it not enough to feel that conscience ap- 
proves, that God smiles, and that you shall be recom- 
pensed at the resurrection of the just? The conviction 
that you are doing good — that you are contributing both 
to the physical and moral welfare of the young, and the 
general happiness of mankind — should excite you to un- 
wearied diligence in your humble but godlike vocation. 

In order to success, several personal qualifications are 
necessary. First of all, piety. The Sunday school teacher 
should be deeply, devotedly pious. He may have knowl- 
edge ; he may have aptness to teach; he may have facil- 
ity of illustration; but these can never compensate the 
absence of personal religion. The motives by which he 
ought to be actuated, and the principles by which he 
^ught to be governed, can never be felt or appreciated, 
till he knows the saving power of grace. Faith in Christ, 
love to Christ, compassion for the ignorant, and a fervent 
desire for their salvation, must prompt, sustain, and pro- 
long his efforts in behalf of the young. Yes, if we would 

°This sermon was delivered January 5, 1851, before the Ninth-street 
Sunday school, Cincinnati. 



156 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 



see Sunday schools prosper, the fire of true piety must 
burn in the breasts of the teachers ; then a vital warmth 
will pervade the school, and a quickening, purifying influ- 
ence will flow from the teacher's heart, to those whom he 
seeks to guide in the path of life. Knowledge is necessary. 
The teacher himself should be a student ; and he should 
habitually, prayerfully, and thoroughly study the holy 
oracles. He should study not only to render truth intelli- 
gible, but attractive. It must be made such in order to 
secure and hold the attention. Win the affections of the 
child, and you have more than half accomplished your 
work; and you may do this by a mi]d authority; by the 
exercise of kindness ; by a generous approbation ; by care 
for their interests ; by an occasional call when they are 
sick, and by kind sympathy when they suffer. Such 
means as these will give you a place in their hearts, and 
render you at once the object of their respect, confidence, 
and love. Perseverance is necessary. ISTo one whose dis- 
position is versatile, who is fond of novelties, or who is 
impatient under disappointment, is fitted for this work. 
There are difficulties to be met, and discouragements to 
be encountered, so many and so frequent, that nothing but 
a calm and animated perseverance can overcome them. 
The object of a Sunday school teacher is to do good ; and, 
in the strength of God, he must be determined to succeed. 
He must not fail or be discouraged ; he must incessantly 
labor and pray. To be successful in any enterprise, in- 
domitable perseverance must be displayed. Go, then, 
cheerfully to your work ; pursue it with fidelity and prayer, 
and leave the result to Him who hath said, " They that 
sow in tears shall reap in joy." 

Parents ! here you have an abiding interest. It is your 
cause we plead; it is your interest, and the interest of 
your child, we this day advocate. If all others turn a 
deaf ear, you should hear; if all others scowl upon this 



Israel's triumph at the red sea. 



157 



enterprise, it should have your countenance and support. 
You can not disregard the moral interests of your children, 
without being more cruel than the savage of the wilder- 
ness. They must be taught to know God, to fear and love 
him, or bitterly will you weep when it is too late to rem- 
edy your neglect. 

Look, I beseech you, upon that child. Every thing 
pleads for him — his innocence, his beauty, his laughing 
eye and dimpled cheek. But he is destined to another 
world — he is the heir of immortality ; and when time has 
passed away, he will be lost in the shades of endless night, 
or shine an angel amid the splendor of eternal day. 



SEEMON XI. 

BY REV. MOSES SMITH. 

ISRAEL'S TRIUMPH AT THE RED SEA. 

"Who is like unto thee, Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glo- 
rious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" Exodus xv, 11. 

This part of the exulting and spirit-stirring song of 
Moses was expressive of great joy. Truly this heaven- 
signalized and happy deliverance of the Hebrews was 
heart-affecting and soul-inspiring. Each spirit, ecstatic in 
the sunlight of infinite favor, filled and overflowed with 
love and gratitude to God. Imagination, sped on the wing 
of faith, hopefully contemplated the distant land of Divine 
right — the once peaceful tents of the remnant of Israel, 
safely environed by the far-off hills and towering mount- 
ains of God. There yet could be seen the fond traces of 
their race ; their solemn and sacred retreats ; the once 
holy, but now forsaken and moldering altars, with a 
gloomy, wild wilderness of innumerable graves, still telling 

14 



158 Israel's triumph at the red sea. 

of a holy, beloved, and departed ancestry. Two thou- 
sand, two hundred and eighty years had scarcely fled 
when the youthful Joseph, barely surviving his mother's 
death, was abandoned to the ruthlessness of a Midianitish 
band and the fearfulness of Egyptian bondage. Dark, 
gloomy, and forbidding as was his fate, yet God preserved 
him amid friendship of irony, burdens of duty, snares to 
crime and idolatry, the horrors of prison, and the allure- 
ments of fame. An unrealized depth of infinite mercy 
was concealed beneath the vision of the bowing sheaves, 
and the obeisance of the sun, moon, and eleven stars, till 
the Lord of the house of Egypt, with tears of suppressed 
feelings, rose up before the aged Israel and his sons, 
calmly declaring, "I am Joseph, thy brother." 

God determined to free the Israelites. Moses was com- 
manded to gather the people. Heaven aided with mer- 
cies on the one hand, and thundered in desolating judg- 
ments on the other. The moss-covered ruins of slumber- 
ing Ramesis, in the region of Zoar, witnessed the collect- 
ing thousands, bearing with them the bones of Joseph. 
Turning to survey, for the last time, the majestic Nile, the 
placid lakes, the fertile land of Goshen, then addressing 
themselves, in obedience to the command of God, they 
were soon in motion, going "out with a high hand in the 
sight of all the Egyptians." Sweeping by the lofty hills, 
over plains of burning sands, and through the mountain - 
pass, they were soon tented upon the banks of the Red 
Sea. Scarcely had they ascended the opposite shore, 
from the depths beneath and the pillar of cloud, till the 
obedient sea, extending over all the Egyptian hosts, rolled 
its erratic waves peacefully on forever. The concordant 
harmony of Israel's song, timbrel, and harp, swelling the 
diapason of each successive strain — rolling back over the 
coral graves of the foe, fell like a song of heaven, on the 
distant, forsaken shore, and ranged along the gloomy 



Israel's triumph at the red sea. 159 

mountains with commingling echoes of sublime and exult- 
.ing praise. 

f. The inquiry. ' ' Who is like unto thee, Lord, 
among the gods?" To discriminate between the gods of 
imagination and the God of Israel was not to them a sub- 
ject of either conjecture or doubt ; and the idea of longer 
attributing power to insensible and material deities had 
fled forever. Boundless confidence was then placed in an 
all-wise, merciful, glorious, eternal, and omnipotent Being. 

( 1 .) Astonishment was evidently blending the emotions of 
heart in this enunciation, as though all imagination or 
rapidity of thought had been infinitely surpassed — over- 
whelming love unmerited, and limitless glory of the eter- 
nal power divine. 

(2.) Attention is implied. Let all the people turn to this 
source of imperishable life, overwhelming in its gift and 
glory. Humility, gratitude, and awe should mark every 
feeling of each broken heart, while earnestly looking to 
Christ for redemption from sin, sorrow, and death. 

2. Egyptian idolatry was oppressive and degrading to 
all its votaries ; and the effect, when contrasted with the 
worship of the true God, rolls up to the vision, conscious- 
ness, and future hope of man, its appalling mountain of 
night browing over the stormy waves of the shoreless 
empire of Spirit, as if convulsed by quaking worlds from 
beneath and lowering heavens from above. The long for- 
bearance of God was signalized by innumerable calls of 
mercy to love and obedience. No less than ten plagues, 
as compulsatory agents to their repentance, spread, over 
the whole land, gloom, sorrow, and death. Their inef- 
fectual invocations to their gods, and fruitless resorts to 
their sacred groves and templed hills, should have induced 
an effectual change and inspired perpetual praise to God. 

3. The true God was the only hope of Israel; and so 
he is the hope, and the only hope, of a lost world. 



160 Israel's triumph at the red sea. 

(1.) He could save. He had power to save; he was 
willing to save ; and he did save, as was every-where evi- 
denced in their deliverances and preservation. Who could 
doubt but that they were saved from their enemies ? They 
saw that the whole pathway of the past was every-where 
bestudded as with a gallery of lights, marking the count- 
less providences and grace cast around them for safety, 
and pointing onward to the rewards of a glorious immor- 
tality. 

(2.) He could destroy. This fact to them was knowl- 
edge. He can and will finally destroy all his enemies. 
They had only to look on the ebbing tide in order to know 
that there he overthrew the chariots of Pharaoh, and there 
the horse and his rider were drowned in the sea. 

4. Glorious in holiness. The majesty, fullness of mean- 
ing, and beauty of this sentence can only be described in 
part. 

(1.) Holiness. One grain of dust in an ocean of water 
would render it impure till it was removed. The existence 
of Deity is boundless. No impurity or discordant ele- 
ment can be attached to the divine Being; he is holy. 

(2.) Absolute holiness belongs to the divine Being; for 
lie alone is infinite in existence and attributes. We are 
not required to possess absolute holiness ; for we are finite 
beings ; yet it is our privilege and duty to be set apart 
holy to God, and to be separated from all sin. 

(3.) Glorious in holiness : the true light of serene and 
resplendent purity, far beyond all description. 

(4.) In holiness. If as to degree, it is the degree all 
degrees beyond — holiest and highest. As to location, he 
may be said to dwell in, and is the infinite center of, holi- 
ness and glory, interminably surrounding. 

5. Fearful in praises. This glorious and holy Being 
encircled with compassion and grace the spirits of time, 
regarding each condition, and is ever present; yet his 



Israel's triumph at the red sea. 161 

throne is eternity. The approach of pure angels, who are 
accessory to the smiles and glorious beatitude of Deity, is 

(1.) With confiding fear; not that they are capable 
of a slavish or unhappy fear; but they come with filial 
love, fearing to do any thing that would be in the least 
calculated to resist the holy love and will of such a Being. 

(2.) With deep reverence; humble and lowly feelings 
of utter dependence upon the protecting power and good- 
ness of God, subjugating every emotion to the law of love. 

(3.) With vailed faces . What can more perfectly indi- 
cate the prudence, love, and submission of those heavenly 
beings ? 

(4.) If this characterizes the adoration of angels, how, 
then, should men of sin, dust, and death, with proper 
humility, approach into the presence of the great God? 
We must approach, believe in, love, and praise the great 
source of incomprehensible majesty, grandeur, and glory — 
fearful in praises, because he is incomprehensible to man. 
But are these the only sources of his praise ? No, no ! 
Praise, fearful, grand, and overwhelming, arises every- 
where and from all that he has made. It is realized in 
the gentle breeze, the delicate flower, waving forests, ver- 
dant plains, and towering mountains, flying clouds, and 
roaring seas. Praise him, revolving earth, and ye, sun, 
moon, and stars ! Repeat his praise, ye rolling worlds on 
high ! System rising on system, towering far beyond the 
flight of thought, burn on, reflecting a silvery train of 
imperishable lights, like holy candles, before the altar of 
Infinity, conspiring praise, fearful, boundless, and eternal. 

6. Doing wonders. The acts of Deity are certain and 
true. They are evidenced in existences. From medium 
the gradations range in series, ascending and descending. 
On the one hand, we go down to a microscopic analysis 
of beings, till they descend beyond all power of vision; 
while, on the other, the mind, ascending in vigorous 

14* 



162 Israel's triumph at the red sea. 

thought, may grasp infinite space, orbed with innumer- 
able revolving worlds. And, without so extensive a 
range, there is wonder, 

(1.) In the plants and flowers of earth. No one can 
understand the philosophy of the germination of plants ; 
the mystery connected with the commencement of their 
growth; how they are matured and adorned with such 
brilliant loveliness and beauty. 

(2.) Who can tell how the oak, that sturdy, proud king 
of the forest, waves its tall head on high ? A thousand 
acorns may fall silently and imperceptibly to the ground ; 
but, in process of time, they spring up, and are matured. 
Yet how can ponderous earth, air, and water, capilorated 
so far above the earth, contrary to the law of gravitation, 
become consolidated in trunks, boughs, and leaves, grace- 
fully waving to every breeze, or still erect, having embat- 
tled the elements of a thousand storms ! 

(3.) The earth, in its existence, containing, internally, 
the stratified archives of its own periods and ages, while, 
at the same time, it moves rapidly on amid surrounding 
worlds. What mysterious power spreads light over this 
flying orb ; wakes up the ocean roar of its mighty waters ; 
spots its ethereal panorama with brilliant clouds, or con- 
gregates them in the blackness of tempest storm, while 
the voice of the distant, deep -toned thunder, and the 
responses of a trembling world, are fearful heralds pre- 
luding its desolating course I 

(4.) Miracle is a wonder ranging within the controlling 
power of Omnipotence. It is an event or occurrence con- 
trary to the established constitution and course of things, 
being a deviation from the laws of nature. That such 
disturbances have occurred in the regular course of nature 
no one can question. Who can define the cause, or com- 
prehend the power that originates them? Time was when 
authority was given to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, 



Israel's triumph at the red sea. 163 

restore the limbs of the maimed, cast out devils, and to 
raise the dead. 

(5.) Man exists in mystery to himself, fearfully and 
wonderfully made. The soul is incomprehensible as to its 
immortality of being, and in the nature, variety, extent, 
and harmony of its faculties. And how can a body of 
clay be animated with life; pulsate, breathe, and act? 
But the indefinable, afnnitating chords of affection, blend- 
ing the life of the two natures in one, is beyond demon- 
stration ; yet an infinite power arranged them all. 

(6.) Life is a mystery. Nonentity preceded it, but can 
never supplant it so as to succeed it. In time it is know- 
ingly and sensitively surrounded by innumerable dangers ; 
yet it is incapable of being annihilated, and must exist in 
some way without further limitation. He whose inspira- 
tion first breathed in earth the breath of lives can perpet- 
uate forever that which he has bestowed. 

(7.) Sleep, emblematical of death, is an order of 
Heaven's wisdom and goodness — sweet, balmy restorer of 
wearied nature ! yet no one can understand the philos- 
ophy or element of its existence ; its repeated returns and 
salutary effects. Though so simple and plain to experi- 
ence, yet it can not be analyzed satisfactorily to the mind. 

(8.) Death, though resembled by sleep, is far different 
to our reception. Sleep, being natural, is courted, in- 
voked, and desired ; but death is unnatural, and filled with 
appalling horror. Its dark vail spreads solemn gloom 
over the pathway of life. Its agencies sever happiness, 
vacate thrones, and hang the earth in mourning. 

(9.) The conversion of the soul is a reality, wondrous, 
and as near a miracle as almost any thing of modern 
times. We do not mean a fashionable or superficial con- 
version, almost without any repentance, groan of spirit, or 
sorrow of heart preceding it ; but we mean that kind of 
conversion which is preceded by deep convictions for sin, 



164 Israel's triumph at the red sea. 

a broken heart, and a convulsed soul, shuddering with 
fearful forebodings over an awful and interminable hell ; 
and a soul that is willing to do any thing or go any where 
for the sake of Christ, happiness, and heaven — a soul, 
when converted, has Christ formed within it, the hope of 
glory, feeling that the Holy Ghost witnesses to the 
heart that it has passed from death to life — and a soul 
that is happy in God, that can shout his praise in some 
way, living wholly given up to religion, having its life hid 
with Christ in God. A religion which will not stand fire, 
save the soul, and be felt as a happifying principle, is 
just that kind which devils love and hell will thank its 
possessor for when eternally lost. 

(10.) The salvation of the soul eternally in heaven is a 
wonderful display of grace. Devils did not desire it, and 
wielded the powers of the eternal world of night to cir- 
cumvent the channels of heaven's love and mercy. Earth, 
though most interested, was once dumb and inactive to 
every thing but to crime, insensible to the allurements of 
virtue, deliberately descended downward, barring, bolting, 
and locking up a fated world in the sorrows of eternal 
woe. Angels, as though encamped on high, paused in 
silencd ; the harp of eternity ceased to move ; a revolting 
world was lost; justice came down to destroy the earth, 
when mercy met and encountered it on the top of Mount 
Calvary, in the presence and person of the world's Re- 
deemer. He conquered ; deliverance came ; hell quailed ; 
earth trembled; angels rejoiced; saints shouted, and all 
nations were called to seek for " glory, honor, immortality, 
eternal life." May we not now attempt to describe the 
felicity and happiness of the souls in heaven? When 
the saints have safely arrived there, rejoined to friends, 
and have gazed with holy awe upon the glory of the 
Savior of poor sinners, then, looking on the city, the 
plains surrounding the rolling river, and waving trees of 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



165 



life, they may speak of heaven. And when the redeemed 
have progressively ascended, grasping the rising series of 
the knowledge and love of God, every-where ranging 
eternally onward, then they may begin to judge of the 
limitless fullness, glory, and eternity of heaven. Great 
God, in tender mercy, save us ! save the world ! let every 
heart aspire to thee, and hail, in final triumph, the fadeless 
joys of a glorious immortality in heaven ! 



SEKMON XII. 

BY REV. JOH¥ S. INSKIP. 

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 
"The Lord is risen indeed," Luke xxiv, 34=. 

The narrative furnished us by the evangelists of the 
circumstances and design of the mission of Christ to our 
world will always be interesting and attractive to the pious 
mind. The mysterious and unexampled union of the 
widest extremes in his person and character presents a 
field of thought which will constitute the study and 
wonder of everlasting ages. The scenes of Bethlehem, 
where the Virgin gave birth to the child Jesus; of Jordan, 
where, as he complied with the requisitions of the cere- 
monial law, he was announced as the beloved Son of God ; 
of the garden, where he seemed to hesitate, and was 
almost overwhelmed with spiritual horror and anguish; 
of Calvary, where the shepherd was smitten and the flock 
were scattered ; and of the sepulcher, where he triumphed 
over all his enemies, at the time excited commotion and 
amazement on earth, in heaven, and in hell. And when 
time shall be no more, and this mortal shall have put on 
immortality, these occurrences will produce rapturous and 



166 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



adoring awe among the redeemed around the throne, and 
confusion, remorse, and shame through all the hosts of the 
rebellious sons of night. 

To the event spoken of in the text these remarks are 
applicable in their broadest and most comprehensive sense. 
The declaration of the disciples was made with thrilling 
emotions of surprise and joy. In consequence of the 
betrayal, crucifixion, and death of their Master, for days 
together, filled with sadness and overwhelmed with disap- 
pointment, they had mourned as those without hope. 
They had believed that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed 
the Messiah, that he had come to restore Israel, and that, 
according to the testimony of the prophets, to him would 
the ' 'gathering of the people be." But in this they 
judged themselves deceived. He of whom they had been 
led to expect these things, by one of their own number 
had been betrayed into the hands of his enemies, who had 
accused, condemned, and crucified him, and his mangled 
body had been conveyed to the tomb. The sword of the 
Lord had smitten his fellow. This was, indeed, the 
"hour and power of darkness.' ' The earth and heavens 
felt the shock, and gave signs of astonishment and woe. 

But early on the morning of the third day the scene 
was changed. Multitudes of the heavenly hosts, unseen 
by the soldiers who kept their vigils there, had gathered 
in the distant clouds to gaze upon the final triumph of the 
Son of God. As the signs of returning life became more 
and more visible, angels and seraphim drew nearer and 
still nearer, till his enshrouded form was full in view; and 
as he arose from the couch of death, and dethroned the 
"king of terrors/' the earth quaked, the keepers fell as 
dead men, heaven shouted, hell howled, and through all 
the range of being there were intimations of the greatness 
of the battle that was fought, and the glory of the victory 
which was won. And, in the midst of all these things, 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



167 



the Prince of life issued from the tomb, and said to the 
adoring myriads around, "I am he that liveth and was 
dead ; and behold, I am alive for evermore, and have the 
keys of hell and of death.' ' The fact of his resurrection was 
soon noised abroad ; and, because of the evidence thereof 
before their minds, the disciples exclaimed, "The Lord is 
risen, indeed !" These words suggest for our consideration, 
I. The certainty of our Lord's resurrection. Two of 
the disciples were journeying together to a small village a 
short distance from Jerusalem. As thev moved onward 
in melancholy mood, and communed and talked with each 
other concerning the things which had happened, Jesus 
drew near, and, without making himself known, asked 
them this question, "What manner of communications are 
these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are 
sad ?" One of them answered, "Art thou only a stranger 
in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are 
come to pass there in these days ?" Still keeping himself 
concealed, he inquired, in reply, "What things?" They 
answered, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a 
prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the 
people ; and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered 
him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 
But we trusted that it had been he which should have 
redeemed Israel ; and, beside all this, to-day is the third 
day since these things were done. Yea, and certain 
women of our company made us astonished, which were 
early at the sepulcher ; and when they found not his body, 
they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of 
angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of 
them which were with us, went to the sepulcher, and 
found it even so as the women had said ; but him they 
saw not." Perceiving their unbelief, he exclaimed, "0, 
fools and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have 
spoken ! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, 



168 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



and to enter into his glory ?" He then began to expound 
the numerous Scriptures relating to himself. They soon 
reached the village whither they were going, and he ap- 
peared as though he would pass on further. They, how- 
ever, as the day was far spent, persuaded him to tarry 
with them. As they sat at meat, he broke bread and 
blessed it, and gave it to them. Their eyes were imme- 
diately opened, so that they knew him, but he vanished 
out of sight. 

Scarcely knowing how to understand what they had 
seen and heard, they at once proceeded to Jerusalem, and 
spoke to the eleven and those who were with them, of 
what had happened to them by the way and at Emmaus. 
And as they all rejoiced together that the Lord had risen 
indeed, he stood in their midst, and, as they, with wonder 
and rapture, gazed upon him, said, " Peace be unto you." 
Hence, we are not surprised that they spoke of this event 
in terms of the greatest confidence. They might, with 
the greatest propriety, say, "The Lord is risen, indeed. " 

It will be profitable for us to examine the circumstances 
which led to this conviction and induced this confidence. 
The doctrine of the resurrection is of immense conse- 
quence to the scheme of human redemption. Indeed, St. 
Paul intimates, in one of his epistles to the Church at 
Corinth, that if it be not true, the whole system of Chris- 
tianity is false, our faith is vain, and we are yet in our 
sins. Hence, the investigation proposed is, in every sense, 
important, and worthy our serious and prayerful attention. 
The proof of the fact of the resurrection of the Lord 
Jesus is so clear, powerful, and conclusive, that an in- 
spired author designates it infallible. 

That a person called Jesus Christ, who claimed to be 
the Son of God, did appear among the Jews, in the man- 
ner and circumstances predicted by their prophets ; that, 
after performing many great and notable miracles, he 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



169 



was betrayed into the hands of his enemies, and by them 
was put to death; and that he was secretly and hastily 
taken from the cross on which he died, and buried in the 
sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathea, and his body, on the 
morning of the third day after his decease, was absent 
from the tomb, are facts concerning which there never has 
been any dispute. The enemies as well as the friends of 
Christ, acknowledged these things. 

The circumstance of our Lord's body being missed from 
the tomb, at the time we have mentioned, being a mere 
question of fact, certainly may, in some way, be explained. 
This involves no mystery ; and to be understood as to its 
truthfulness, we have only to give heed to the ordinary 
rules of historical evidence and fidelity. It seems to us 
we are shut up to the necessity of either proving that his 
body was clandestinely removed, or admitting that he 
arose from the dead. One or the other of these positions 
must be true. 

Let us briefly and candidly examine the first hypothesis. 
The theft alleged, if it occurred, must have been perpe- 
trated by one or more of the foes or the disciples of Christ. 
It is barely possible that the former might have stolen and 
concealed his body for the purpose of deceiving and con 
fronting his disciples. He had frequently given the world 
to understand that he would not only lay down his life, 
but also take it up again. Hence, the council, after that he 
had been crucified, remembered this fact, and requested 
arrangements to be made accordingly. And it would 
have been the wisest policy, if they really believed what 
they avowed concerning Christ, in view of the evident 
sincerity of his disciples, had the soldiers, or others, been 
directed to secretly remove his body. In that event, when 
his disciples should go out among men and proc]aim his 
resurrection, the body could have been produced, and 
their error and deception would thus have been exposed. 

15 



170 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



But did any thing of this kind ever take place ? JsTo, 
verily. Hence, the various authorities involved in the 
guilt of putting to death an innocent man, heard and en- 
dured, without contradiction, the most pointed accusations 
and withering rebuke of the crime, and were again and 
again dismayed with the declaration of the disciples, that 
the same Jesus whom they had slain and hung on the 
tree, had been exalted to the right hand of God. Had the 
body of Christ been in their possession, how easily they 
could have presented it, and thus have displayed to the 
world the folly and deception of those who avowed that 
he had arisen from the dead ! 

The soldiers, however, alleged that his disciples commit- 
ted this theft. They had been stationed at the sepulcher, 
it must be remembered, for the express and exclusive pur- 
pose of preventing such an occurrence. This precaution- 
ary step was taken by the governor, at the solicitation of 
the elders and chief priests. They feared, unless some- 
thing of the kind should be done, the disciples would 
come and take his body from the tomb, and then say that 
he had arisen from the dead. Hence, the watch was set, 
and the tomb was made entirely secure. The story told 
by the soldiers was after this manner: "The disciples 
came by night, while we slept, and stole him away." Is 
this account in the least sense probable? We ought 
rather to say, is it not ridiculous and absurd ? Can any 
reasonable man, for one moment, accredit it? 

It must not be forgotten, that, under the Roman law, 
death was the penalty exacted of the soldier found asleep 
at his post. Can it be supposed in any degree probable 
or possible, that all these men, in view of this fact, would 
so far forget their duty, or their danger, as to fall asleep ? 
Of the whole band, one or more certainly would have 
been mindful of their obligations or peril, at least suffi- 
ciently so to have kept awake while guarding the tomb of 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



171 



Him, whose dying groans shook the earth and clothed the 
heavens in mourning. And if only one of their number 
had been awake, as the disciples stealthily approached, he 
would have given the alarm, and every one of them might 
have been arrested on the spot; and, after proper inquiry, 
their offense might have been proven and punished with 
such penalties as the law directed. 

But it might be asked, if all the soldiers were asleep 
how could they tell in what manner the body left the 
grave? How could they know that it was stolen, either 
by the disciples or others ? And we would also ask, is it 
at all likely that a body of unstable and timid men, as 
were the disciples, would attempt so daring and hazardous 
an undertaking as to pass a host of well-armed soldiery ? 
Could they, who, upon the very first indication of danger, 
fled from or denied their Master, suddenly have become 
brave and reckless enough to engage in such an unpropi- 
tious and perilous enterprise ? Is it credible that they, for 
the purpose of consummating an imposture in which they 
could have no interest whatever, would have attempted a 
movement of this character, which promised no success, 
and involved the most serious and dangerous consequen- 
ces? The account of the soldiers, therefore, is, in the 
highest degree, improbable, absurd, and preposterous. It 
was, indeed, but a " clumsy forgery" — a ridiculous lie. 

From the foregoing considerations, it is evident that the 
body of Christ was not stolen from the grave, either by 
his enemies or his friends. Hence, the only satisfactory 
solution of the case is that which we find in the fact of his 
resurrection, as stated by the evangelists. This fact the 
disciples asserted again and again, and, in every place 
whither they went, challenged and defied contradiction. 
The terms in which they spoke of this occurrence indicate 
the purity of their motives, and their unbounded confi- 
dence in the truth of their statements. 



172 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



But was the story told by the disciples true ? Does it 
merit our confidence ? We are persuaded it does, because 
of the time and place when and ivhere it was first an- 
nounced. They proclaimed the fact first of all in the city 
of Jerusalem, and immediately after the event transpired. 
While the majesty and dismay of the earthquake, and the 
humiliation and shame of the cross were fresh in the 
memory of the inhabitants, and the chief priests and oth- 
ers, who had conspired against Christ, were exulting in 
the success of their plans, the disciples, surrounded by a 
throng of strangers from every part of the world, and in 
sight of Calvary and the sepulcher, boldly said: " Ye men 
of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man 
approved of God among you by miracles, and wonders, 
and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as 
ye yourselves also know : him, being delivered by the de- 
terminate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have 
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 
whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of 
death: because it was not possible that he should be 
holden of it. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we 
all are witnesses.' ■ Had these men designed to impose on 
public credulity, they certainly would have selected a dif- 
ferent audience, and a more remote locality ; because, by 
so doing the imposition could have been made with less 
probability of detection and greater promise of success. 

Another and a very important consideration is pre- 
sented in the number of witnesses, and the uniformity of 
their testimony. The apostle speaks of this. He says, "I 
delivered unto you, first of all that which I also received, 
how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scrip- 
tures : and that he was buried, and that he rose again the 
third day according to the Scriptures : and that he was 
seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that he was 
seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



173 



greater part remain unto this present : but some are fallen 
asleep. After that he was seen of James ; then of all the 
apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of 
one born out of due time. ,, All these, without a dissent- 
ing yoice, declared that the Lord Jesus had arisen from 
the dead. It is not only incredible, but also well-nigh im- 
possible, that so large a number of persons could have 
been united in such a scheme of deception and falsehood 
as that alleged against the disciples. So far as their char- 
acter is made known to us, they do not seem to have pos- 
sessed sufficient skill to have originated, or courage to 
have consummated any thing of the sort. And if, by any 
arrangement, they had planned and united upon such a 
movement, it is almost certain some of their number would, 
by bribery or fear, have been induced to expose the impos- 
ture. But they all, at all times, in all places, and at all 
hazards, persisted in declaring the fact that he arose. 
Nor has the infidel world furnished us with a single in- 
stance in which any of them either doubted or denied it. 
True, there were numerous apostates from the faith. But 
none of these ever intimated or discovered to mankind 
any thing that would lead to the supposition that such a 
scheme or plot existed. 

The testimony of the disciples will appear still more 
worthy of credit if we take into account the absence of 
every conceivable motive to deception. Wherever men at- 
tempt imposition of any kind, there is some interest to be 
served — some sinister object to be accomplished. But in 
this case there was nothing to be gained but shame, 
stripes, imprisonment, and death. By deceiving, in this 
instance, they could add nothing to their purse, character, 
or condition ; but, on the contrary, they periled and sacri- 
ficed every thing, even their lives. The ordinary motives 
to deception might have induced them to have denied the 
resurrection of Christ, but never could have led them to 

15* 



174 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



assert it. Hence, we must insist, till infidels make it ap- 
pear that the disciples had some inducements to practice 
a fraud upon the public mind, consistency requires the 
charge of imposition to be abandoned. The burden of 
proof is on the part of those who make the objection, es- 
pecially as we not only deny what they affirm, but also 
present conclusive evidence of the correctness of our posi- 
tion. 

We may also remark that the disciples could not have 
been deceived themselves. The sincerity and integrity of 
these men are admitted by some who deny the fact of the 
resurrection. They insist that while the veracity of the 
disciples should not be impugned, no credit should be 
given to their story, because they were deceived. In re- 
ply to this, it should be remembered the resurrection of 
our Redeemer was not a point of doctrine involving met- 
aphysical and elaborate distinctions and arguments. It 
was no "moon-struck reverie," or graveyard vision, re- 
sulting from previously-cherished hopes, or protracted 
vigils at the tomb. It was a plain question of fact, which 
might be determined by the ordinary evidence of sense. 
It was also a fact which they were slow to believe. The 
spirit of Thomas, who said unless he should see the prints 
of the nails and thrust his hand into his side he would not 
believe, in a measure possessed the minds of all his breth- 
ren. Mary and others went to the sepulcher, not with an 
expectation that they would see him arise, but carried 
spices thither, according to the custom of the times, to 
embalm him. And when they found he had arisen, they 
were filled with amazement and fear. And as the eleven 
conversed together concerning the rumors of his resurrec- 
tion, wonder and doubt overpowered their minds. Hence, 
when he suddenly appeared in their midst, they were 
struck with terror, supposing they had seen a spirit. But 
that they might not be alarmed or deceived, he said to 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



175 



them, "Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise 
in your hearts ? Behold my hands and my feet ; that it is 
I myself ; handle me and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh 
and bones, as ye see me have." And we are told that 
after he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and 
feet. And to Thomas he said, "Reach hither thy finger, 
and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and 
thrust it into my side : and be not faithless, but believing.' ' 
He frequently sat at meat and conversed with them, and 
in many other ways, for the space of forty days, showed 
himself alive. These circumstances rendered it impossi- 
ble for them to be led away by an optical illusion, or de- 
ception of any kind whatever. 

We should also bear in mind, they performed miracles 
in confirmation of their testimony. These miracles were 
wrought before the multitude, to whom some assert Christ 
should have appeared. A miracle, in the true and proper 
sense, is the work of God. When performed, it is for the 
purpose of attesting the authority of a religious teacher, 
or in confirmation of the truth of the doctrine to be 
taught. No miracles can be performed in defense of error 
or falsehood. God is true and can not lie. Hence, in all 
cases where a doctrine or event is sustained by the evi- 
dence of a miracle, without controversy it must be re- 
ceived. The apostles wrought many miracles. We may 
pause at this point to examine a few of them. 

The first meriting special notice, is the delivery of their 
message, so as to be understood in the language of all the 
nations of the earth. It matters not whether the apostles, 
in this case, were miraculously endowed with the gift of 
speech, or the people had their understanding so enlight- 
ened as to comprehend, in their own tongue, what they 
heard. Upon either hypothesis a great miracle was 
wrought, and the confirmation of heaven was given to the 
mission and testimony of the apostles, 



176 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



The day of Pentecost, one of the national feasts, ap- 
pointed in commemoration of the giving of the law, had 
come. The disciples were assembled together in a large 
ripper room. There they waited, with one accord, in 
prayer for the promise from on high. Suddenly there was 
a noise, as of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the 
place where they were sitting. Cloven tongues of flame 
arose upon their heads. The holy Comforter revealed 
himself in their midst, and God was there in glorious maj- 
esty and power. From thence they went forth and de- 
clared the wonderful works of God to Parthians, Medes, 
Elamites, and others from various parts of the earth, all 
of whom heard them in the language i( wherein they were 
born." 

The vast multitude present were overwhelmed with as- 
tonishment, and said, referring to the disciples, s ' Are not 
all these men which speak Galileans? And how hear we 
every man in our own tongue?" The apostles answered: 
"This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are wit- 
nesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God 
exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of 
the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now 
see and hear." They thus stated the origin and design 
of this wonderful and miraculous display of the power 
and the glory of God. 

On another occasion, Peter and John performed a noted 
miracle by healing, at the gate of the temple called Beau- 
tiful, a man lame from his birth. The lame man being 
healed, arose and went with them into the temple. The 
people were astonished when they saw him walking, leap- 
ing, and praising God. Perceiving this, Peter said to 
them, ££ Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why 
look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power 
or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of 
Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; the God of our 



I 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



177 



fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus, whom ye delivered up 
and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was deter- 
mined to let him go. But ye denied the holy One and 
the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you ; 
and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from 
the dead, whereof we are witnesses. And his name, 
through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, 
whom ye see and know : yea, the faith which is by him 
hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of 
you alL ,, The obvious intent of these miracles was to 
confirm the testimony of the disciples touching the resur- 
rection of Christ. And in this manner, by the authority 
of God himself, is the truth of their story established. 

We should also keep in mind the credence given to their 
testimony. The Spirit was poured forth and multitudes 
believed. Three- thousand, despite all their prejudices, 
civil and religious, were converted, baptized, and added to 
the Church in one day ; and, in a few years afterward, 
hundreds of thousands received the Gospel, and felt the 
power of the resurrection. The moral results following 
the promulgation of this great truth continue, as a per- 
petual miracle, to convince and save the world. 

Nor was this credence given only by those who became 
followers of Christ and his apostles. The following lan- 
guage is ascribed to Josephus, a Jew, and consequently 
opposed to Christianity: 4 'Now, there was, about this 
time, Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man ; 
for he was a doer of wonderful works, and a teacher of 
such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew 
over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gen- 
tiles. He was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the sug- 
gestion of the principal men among us, had condemned 
him to the cross, those that loved him at first did not for- 
sake him ; for he appeared to them alive again the third 
day, as the divine prophets had foretold them, and ten 



178 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



thousand other wonderful things concerning him." What 
stronger language than this could be desired? 

Pilate, before whom Christ was tried and condemned, 
sent to Tiberius, the Emperor, an account of his miracles, 
sufferings, death, and resurrection. The Emperor re- 
ported this to the Roman senate, together with a sugges- 
tion that Christ should be proclaimed one of the gods of 
the nation. The senate declined this proposition, simply 
because it did not originate with themselves, alleging that 
ancient law gave them the superintendence in all matters 
of religion. 

But the world at large gave credence to their story. 
And so clear and decisive was the proof of his resurrec- 
tion, that a magnificent and permanent religious edifice was 
erected in commemoration of the event; and, although 
there may be a slight error in the locality of this build- 
ing, it remains, with much of its original splendor, a last- 
ing and impressive memorial of the extent to which a con- 
viction of the truthfulness of the account of the disciples 
had attained. It is scarcely possible, and by no means 
probable, that a few ignorant men, without rank or dis- 
tinction in Church or state, could have made so great an 
impression upon the world by any scheme of imposture, 
however well designed. 

When, therefore, we sum up the facts that the body of 
the Lord Jesus was missing from the tomb on the morning 
of the third day ; that it was not and could not have been 
clandestinely removed thence by his enemies or friends ; 
that his disciples frequently and fearlessly declared he had 
arisen from the dead ; that this declaration was made by 
hundreds who, at different times, saw and handled him, 
and conversed and ate with him ; that their statement was 
first made at Jerusalem, and immediately after the event 
transpired ; that there was no conceivable motive for them 
to deceive others, and no possibility of being deceived 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



179 



themselves ; that they performed numerous and indisputa- 
ble miracles in confirmation of their testimony; and that 
their narration of the fact and circumstances was accred- 
ited by hundreds of thousands of those who attended 
their ministry, we have before the mind an amount of evi- 
dence bearing upon the question, the force of which we 
can not resist ; and, though eighteen centuries have passed 
away since the event occurred, we who now live and can- 
didly contemplate the subject, may say, with rapturous 
certainty, " The Lord is risen, indeed!" 

II. The language of the text not only expresses the 
certainty of the resurrection of our Redeemer, but also 
the joy which it occasioned. Although the shame and suf- 
ferings of Calvary produced a melancholy sadness among 
the disciples, the events of the third day created the 
greatest rapture on earth and in heaven. When fully 
persuaded of the fact of the resurrection, the voice of joy 
and gladness was heard in all the tabernacles of the right- 
eous. They, indeed, were glad when they saw him alive, 
and, with blissful emotions, exclaimed, ci The Lord is risen, 
indeed !" The sacred historian informs us that they could 
scarcely believe for joy. 

It was the joy of surprise. They had heard their Mas- 
ter frequently advert to his decease, and the results which 
would follow. But they did not seem to understand him. 
He spoke of the prophet Jonah, and likewise assured them 
if the temple of his body were destroyed, in three days he 
would raise it up again. But these things they did not 
comprehend. Hence, at his crucifixion, they feared, de- 
spaired, and fled. But their lingering affection for him 
during that mysterious hour provided a resting-place for 
his body in the sepulcher of Joseph. Having hastily per- 
formed his funeral obsequies, they returned from the grave 
without comfort or hope. Their sympathies brought them 
together, that they might commune with and sustain each 



180 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



other concerning their disappointed hopes, and the misfor- 
tunes that had befallen them. In such a mood, some of 
their number repaired with spices to his tomb to embalm 
him. They approached cautiously the sepulcher of the 
mighty One ; but, as they drew nigh, their grief became 
more overpowering still ; for they found that the body was 
gone. One, however, who stood by in shining garments, 
bade them not to fear, and assured them that he had 
arisen. They immediately returned to the rest of their 
company, and told what things they had seen. Others 
came in, also, and spoke of what they had seen and heard ; 
and as the listening wonderers grouped around, Christ 
himself appeared in their midst, and poured the oil of 
consolation upon their wounded hearts. With the greatest 
ecstasy, as they gazed upon him, they cried out, "The 
Lord is risen, indeed!" 

The resurrection of our Lord was a further occasion of 
joy, because it was a triumphant vindication of his divinity. 
St. Paul says that " he was declared to be the Son of 
God with power, according to the sj)irit of holiness, by the 
resurrection from the dead." For claiming and asserting 
himself to be the Son of God, the Jews accused him of 
blasphemy, and adjudged him worthy of death. He had 
commanded obedience from the tempest and the sea ; dis- 
ease and want fled at his word ; and his whole life had 
been one uninterrupted series of great and marvelous 
deeds. Still, when he hung, apparently a helpless victim, 
on the cross, the multitude passed by, and sneeringly said, 
"If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross, 
and we will believe thee." But, in the final issue of his 
conflict with the powers of darkness, he overthrew death, 
hell, and the grave, and proclaimed himself the Lord, 
strong and victorious in battle, and great in goodness and 
truth. 

The resurrection of our Lord was also a glorious proof 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 



181 



of the sufficiency of his sacrifice. He died for our sins, 
and was delivered unto death for our offenses; but he 
rose again for our justification. Our Savior's personal 
ministry, because of the purity of his life and the power 
of his doctrine, excited the wonder and admiration of all 
who heard him. His miracles confirmed his mission, and 
proclaimed him the great Teacher sent from God. But it 
remained for the events of the cross and the tomb to con- 
summate the great end for which he came into the world, 
and present him as the Savior of all our sinful race. The 
" great commission' ' was not given till after the resur- 
rection. Then the disciples were commanded to go out 
into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creat- 
ure. It was this idea that inspired the poet, when he ex- 
claimed, 

"This day be grateful homage paid, and loud hosannas sung; 
Let gladness dwell in every heart, and praise on every tongue; 
Ten thousand differing lips shall join to hail this welcome morn, 
Which scatters blessings from its wings to nations yet unborn." 

The disciples also might have viewed it as the pledge of 
their own resurrection. When he arose, he became, indeed, 
the resurrection and the life. He was the first-fruits of them 
that slept. Then life and immortality were brought to 
light. Death was deprived of his sting, and the grave 
was freed from its gloom. Since then, a halo of glory and 
of hope rests upon the sepulcher of the righteous dead ; 
and man, by the light which broke forth from the Savior's 
tomb, may see the path to glory, honor, immortality, and 
eternal life, at God's right hand. 

Again : the resurrection of Christ was a complete victory 
over all his enemies. The scribes and elders united with 
invisible agencies that participated in this unexampled 
conflict. Men and devils, earth and hell, arrayed them- 
selves against the Captain of the Lord's hosts ; but it was 
only to be defeated and overthrown. True, they tri- 

16 



182 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



umphed when he fell; but when he arose, he gathered 
unto himself his great strength, and his own arm brought 
him the victory. His blood atoned for the guilt of those 
who shed it, and his exit from the tomb pointed his mur- 
derers to the path to glory and to God. He returned 
from the field of strife covered with the splendor of his 
achievements ; and, with his enemies bound to the wheels 
of his chariot, he entered the opening gates of the city of 
God, and, amid the acclamations of the crowding millions 
of the heavenly hosts, was declared the King of kings and 
the Lord of lords ; and as the wondering universe gazed 
upon him, returning to the glory he had with the " Father 
before the world was," heaven felt a thrill of joy, and the 
spirits about the throne exclaimed with ecstasy, "The 
Lord is risen, indeed !" 



sermon xm. 

BY REV. CLINTON W. SEARS. 
KEEPING THE HEART. 
"Keep thy heart with all diligence," Peoyeebs rv, 23. 

Perhaps no individual had experienced more deeply the 
plague of the human heart or felt the need of maintaining 
over it a continual, holy jealousy, than the writer of the 
text. In early life, Solomon had chosen God as his 
friend and wisdom — as his chief good. His judicious 
election gave him favor and promotion with God and man. 
His exaltation exposed him to numberless temptations, 
and he fell. Surrounded by the corrupting honors of 
royalty, the vitiating influence of wealth, and the fascina- 
tions of pleasure, the avenues of his soul were opened to 
the inroads of vice. That heart, once guarded with 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



183 



watchful care, became an easy prey to the destroyer. 
Although Solomon, with all his glory, has long since 
passed away, yet his sad apostasy and warning expostula- 
tion still remain, as an admonition to others, speaking even 
to us in the expressive language of the text, "Keep thy 
heart with all diligence ; for out of it are the issues of 
life.^ 

Indeed, the keeping the heart right with God embraces 
the whole duty of man. It implies the fulfillment of the 
two great commandments, and comprehends the great 
secret of holy living. On it depends all our usefulness as 
Christians and our final salvation. It is this which makes 
the way to heaven so narrow and the gate so strait. The 
attention of the reader is, then, invited to the important duty 
of keeping the heart as founded upon the words of the 
text. 

In the exhortation, "Keep thy heart with all diligence/' 
two subjects are presented : First, the meaning of the 
term heart as here used; and, second, our duty in respect 
to it. 

I. The term heart, as here employed, means something 
different from that important organ of the body which is 
the seat of animal life. It is a metaphorical expression, 
used often in Scripture to designate either the whole 
mind or some one or more of its constituent parts. It is 
sometimes used as the seat of the understanding. In 
Luke xxiv, 24, the Savior says to two of his disciples, on 
a certain occasion, "0, fools and slow of heart;" that is, 
ignorant men without insight or understanding ; Matthew 
xiii, 15, "This people's heart is waxed gross, lest they 
should understand with their heart;" Romans i, 21, 
"Their foolish heart was darkened." Again, it is spoken 
of as the seat of the affections and passions, and, through 
them, of the will. Ezekiel xiii, 2, the prophets are said 
to prophesy "out of their own hearts;" that is, according 



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KEEPrNU THE HEART. 



to their own affections and inclinations, just as their own 
sinful desires might dictate and their own wills determine. 
In those passages where the heart is mentioned as good, 
clean, evil, broken, hardened, liberal, it is regarded as the 
seat of the dispositions. The word, however, as used in 
the text, embraces not any particular disposition or faculty 
of the mind. It here designates the entire mind. "Keep 
thy heart;" that is, thy whole soul. All its powers being 
bestowed for a wise and benevolent end, that we might 
thereby glorify God, we are required to keep them from 
an evil application, and devote them exclusively to his serv- 
ice. It is another form of expression for the great com- 
mandment, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart." The intellect, the sensibilities, and the will, 
in their diversified operations, which are only so many dif- 
ferent modes of mental action, are to be kept with all dil- 
igence. 

In connection with the meaning of the term heart, it 
may be proper to inquire in what state it is here supposed 
to be, or, in other words, what is its moral character. It, 
doubtless, refers to the heart of a believer ; a heart that 
has been renewed and changed by divine grace ; a heart 
that has been set right ; and the duty imposed is, to keep 
it right. Nor does it matter as to its degree of purity. 
No soul, however immaculate, is free from unholy influ- 
ences while in a state of probation. If there are no foes 
within, if the strong man has, indeed, been cast out, still 
there are external foes — an alluring world and a tempting 
devil. These will ever seek an opportunity to repossess 
their former habitation. Should the heart be as pure as 
that of Adam's in Paradise, still there would be need of 
watchfulness: yea, the greater need; for there are none 
against w T hom the malice of Satan is so constantly and 
fiercely employed as "the pure in heart." A triumph 
here more fully gratifies his hatred of God and holiness. 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



185 



Our first parents were created in the image of their 
Maker. Supreme love to him was the ruling principle 
in all their actions. Under its influence they pursued a 
uniform, undeviating course of moral rectitude. Their 
intellectual faculties, their affections, their passions, and 
their appetites, all moved in their appropriate spheres, in 
heavenly harmony. No thought was wrong; no desire 
corrupt ; but they were, nevertheless, in a state of proba- 
tion. They needed watchfulness, and for the want of it 
they fell. The love of God was now changed for self-love, 
and this self-love, with the natural appetites created only 
to serve, broke out in high-handed rebellion, and became 
the imperious sovereigns of the man. By Christ Jesus, 
the Christian regains what he lost in his federal head — the 
moral image of God, which is " righteousness and true 
holiness/ ' He is brought back to holy allegiance. His 
heart being changed and given to God, the duty enjoined 
is to keep it thus in Divine conformity. This leads us to 
our second general topic — our duty in respect to the heart. 

II. Our duty is clearly pointed out in the words of the 
exhortation, "Keep thy heart with all diligence. ,, This 
embraces two particulars: First, the duty itself, "Keep 
thy heart;" and, second, the manner of doing it, "With all 
diligence/ 1 

We are to keep our hearts. The term in the original is 
applied to keeping a vineyard, or a city. We are to keep 
our hearts as a vineyard. By a reference to Isaiah v, 2, we 
learn the vineyard was first cleared of stones, and sur- 
rounded by a wall, or fence. The choicest vines were 
then planted, and a tower built as a station for the watch- 
man, whose constant care was to preserve the inclosure 
from the inroads of enemies ; and this was the more nec- 
essary in the oriental country, as the wild animals that 
infested the cultivated fields were abundant. As with a 
vineyard, so with the heart. The rubbish of sin is first 

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186 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



cast out, a wall of spiritual habits placed around, and the 
choicest plants of grace cultivated ; but now the most im- 
portant duty is to watch it, to so Jceep it that that "evil 
one/' more cruel, more cunning, and more destructive 
than wild beasts, touch it not. Again : we are to keep 
our hearts as a city. An old writer on this passage will 
have the word taken from "the state of a besieged gar- 
rison, begirt by many enemies without, and in danger of 
being betrayed by treacherous citizens within, in which 
danger the soldiers, on pain of death, are commanded to 
watch." Nor is it an overwrought picture even of the 
heart of the believer. Without are Satan, the world, and 
all that is in the world, "the desire of the flesh, the 
desire of the eye, and the pride of life;" within are often 
the remaining corruptions of an unsanctified nature and 
an evil heart of unbelief. These internal foes are the 
most dangerous and formidable. Sometimes they are 
almost in a state of rebellion. At all times they stand 
ready to betray the soul into the hands of external ene- 
mies. There is a continual conspiracy between those 
without and those within to ruin "the town of Mansoul." 
Truly, then, our hearts are as so many besieged cities, 
and we are called upon to watch for life. 

But the manner of doing this duty is also pointed out. 
We are to do it "with all diligence. " This expression in 
the Hebrew is very forcible. It implies we are to keep 
the heart with all keeping, or, as others have translated it, 
above all that is kept. As the thing intrusted to our care 
is of priceless value, so we are to exercise over it a com- 
mensurate regard for its present and eternal well-being. 
But we may properly inquire, What is implied in "keep- 
ing the heart with all diligence ?" In the language of 
the pious Flavel, who has written extensively on this sub- 
ject, it consists "in the diligent and constant use and im- 
provement of all holv means to preserve the soul from sin 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



187 



and maintain Its free and sweet communion with God," 
and implies, consequently, 

1 . Heart or self examination. Few persons know them- 
selves as they ought, and the Savior might, with pro- 
priety, say to many of his disciples at the present day, 
"Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of." The 
Bible informs us that many will be self-deceived at the last 
day: "Many will say unto me in that day, Lord! Lord!" 
There is danger of indulging a false hope of final salva- 
tion. The human heart is intricate and deceptious. Dis- 
appointment may have so often checked the gayeties of a 
naturally-buoyant spirit as to leave permanent lines of 
seriousness upon the countenance. The love of praise or 
hope of gain may have prompted those acts of benevo- 
lence whose contemplation fills us with such complacency. 
We may have a great zeal for the Church, and much 
seeming respect for the honor of Christ, and yet it may 
be nothing more than downright sectarianism. We may 
have the form of godliness ; be strict as a Pharisee as to 
all the externals of religion ; and yet, when we look for 
the power of godliness ; when we look for genuine fruits ; 
when we look for consistent piety in the heart as well as 
life, which is defined as "pure and undefiled religion," 
our scrutiny, alas ! will only expose our utter destitution 
of the "one thing needful." Hence, the Bible enforces 
the duty of self-examination: " Examine yourselves 
whether ye be in the faith ; prove yourselves. Know ye 
not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, 
except ye be reprobates?" In doing this duty, try your 
hearts by the word of God, and thereby ye shall know 
whether ye are of the truth; "for the word of God is 
quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged 
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul 
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a dis- 
cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Yes; 



188 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



bring every thought, word, and action to this test ; for by 
it they will finally be tried when there can be no evading 
and no means of satisfaction, if once we are weighed in the 
scales of retributive justice and found wanting. 

Thus it becomes the imperative duty of every one who 
would grow in grace, "keep his heart with all diligence/' 
and save his soul, to enter the secret chambers of that 
soul, to explore its every dark and hidden recess, strip off 
its every insidious and seductive guise, weigh the charac- 
ter of its complicated motives, and bring to Gospel light 
all its interior and concealed operations. If there are 
internal foes, let them be searched out. If there are 
idols, let them be brought forth and destroyed. If there 
are unguarded portals open to the inroad of outward ene- 
mies, it should be known, that they may be closed. If 
there are places strongly besieged, they should be discov- 
ered and doubly fortified. He that keepeth a city will 
examine the character of its inhabitants, to know who are 
friends and who will prove traitors ; yea, he will closely 
inspect every gate, every tower, and all his munitions of 
defense. And shall the children of this world be wiser 
than the children of light ? Indeed, I hazard nothing in 
saying, there can be no real spiritual life without this 
self-examination. If we will hold constant communion 
with God, we must search out each and every thing that 
will hinder that communion. How many complain of 
their barrenness of soul and want of spiritual-mindedness, 
who probably never spent an hour in all their lives in con- 
versing with their own wayward hearts. But this duty 
seems so important, and, withal, is so much neglected, that 
I will further present it to the consideration of the reader, 
by giving some rules for its faithful performance. 

( 1 . ) If we would do this duty to profit, it must be done 
deliberately. "In the night," says the Psalmist, "I com- 
muned with mine own heart, and my spirit made diligent 



KEEPISO THE HEART. 



189 



search." Mark the time. It was not amid the bustle of busi- 
ness and the engrossing pursuits of the day. It was at night, 
when every thing is so favorable to a deliberate discharge 
of the duty. A hurried examination will never answer. 
We are prone to perform in haste disagreeable tasks. So 
in searching the heart. We find so much to condemn — so 
much that is wrong — we make haste to turn away our 
thoughts. The picture is too dark and forbidding, and 
thus the duty, if undertaken, is only half done. There 
is no stopping to weigh motives, trace relations, and exam- 
ine consequences. We should bear in mind, however, we 
are transacting business for eternity, and all things will be 
reinspected in the day of general judgment. Does the 
mariner, about to enter upon a dangerous voyage, with a 
valuable cargo, have no respect to the condition of his 
vessel ? Why are the laws so strict as to the examination 
of vessels? Indeed, the scrutiny is not left voluntarily 
with the owner ; but agents are appointed by government. 
Why all this care ? Because property and life are com- 
mitted to these vehicles of the great deep. And shall we 
be less careful and act with less deliberation in regard to 
our souls ? We are soon to try the fathomless depths and 
unexplored regions of eternity's boundless ocean. Our 
bark is laden with a priceless treasure ; not with merchan- 
dise from India; not with Golconda's gift of diamonds, or 
gold from southern mines ; but with an immortal, never- 
dying soul. Ah. ! the Savior himself could not tell the 
value of our eternity-freighted cargo ; and say, shall we 
go forth on this returnless voyage without careful examin- 
ation ? If once we put to sea, there is no friendly harbor 
into which we may turn for repairs. 

(2.) We are to examine our hearts impartially. It is 
human nature to justify when convicted of guilt. Thus 
Adam threw back the blame upon Eve, and she, in turn, 
upon the serpent. It is to be feared that many are 



190 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



inclined to heap all the guilt of their bad hearts upon the 
devil, instead of searching out their real, inherent cor- 
ruption. There may be some sins with which our inter- 
ests are intimately connected. Prejudice and a moral 
sense perverted by a long course of wrong-doing will 
strive to leave these out of the account. Selfishness will 
say, pass them by; they are of little or no importance. 
But we must search out each and every sin — those secret, 
bosom sins — -though they are a right hand or a right eye. 
Peril not the soul by talking about "little sins." There 
are no such words in the vocabulary of the book of life. 
God views all sins alike as to character ; and the smallest, 
unrepented of and unforgiven, will consign the soul to 
perdition. You may think an idle thought or an idle word 
is of little importance. The infinitely-holy God does not 
so regard them. Jesus Christ did not so regard them 
when he said, "that every idle word that men speak they 
shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment." 

(3.) This duty must be done frequently. Examination 
once a year or once a month will not do. It should find 
a place in the duties of each day. It has respect to all 
our actions. If we delay, many things may be forgotten. 
Most of our besetting sins appear in the form of habits. 
These must have had a beginning, and could then have 
been easily conquered. By frequent examination, we 
thus detect them in their incipiency, and can readily over- 
come what would become a formidable enemy, if allowed 
to gain strength by weeks and months of indulgence. 
Some hour or half hour should be set apart each day for 
the discharge of this duty. Nothing should be suffered 
to obtrude upon this consecrated portion of time, neither 
the call of friends nor the press of business. Each night 
the Christian should know how his account stands with 
God. He should so lie down as if he expected to wake 
up in eternity. The consequences may be fearful if 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



191 



delayed. The enemy can destroy, in an hour, the labor 
of months. Who is the careful and judicious tradesman, 
and one who possesses the confidence of community ? It 
is he who knows each day his positive situation. Too 
many are like the insolvent debtor, who, conscious of 
owing more than he can pay, neglects, day after day, to 
balance his accounts, involving himself deeper and still 
deeper, till compelled to see his true situation by the irre- 
sistible arm of the law. So it will be with those who 
neglect self-examination. They will involve themselves, 
more and more, in condemnation, till necessitated to hear 
their final doom in the sentence of the foolish virgins and 
misspent talents. 

(4.) But, lastly, we should search our hearts under a 
consciousness of the omniscience of Jehovah, and be will- 
ing to invoke God's Spirit to assist in the work, feeling, 
as did the Psalmist when he prayed, " Search me, 
God, and know my heart ; try me, and know my thoughts, 
and see if there be any evil way in me." Let us rest not 
till the piercing eye of Omniscience has penetrated our 
hearts and laid open our very innermost thoughts, and we 
hear the sweet response of the Spirit saying, "I have 
searched thee, my beloved, and behold thou art pure." 
Consider that, however we may pass over little heart evils, 
they are not hid from his all-searching sight, to whom 
"the night shineth as the day," remembering "man look- 
eth on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the 
heart;" that "all things are naked and open unto the eyes 
of him with whom Ave have to do." 

2. Keeping the heart with all diligence, implies watch- 
fulness. Having acquired a thorough knowledge of our 
hearts by examination, then, and not till then, are we pre- 
pared to watch over them ; for how can we meet a foe if 
he come upon us unawares ? But we find watchfulness as 
positively enjoined as self-examination. "Watch and 



192 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



pray, lest ye enter into temptation:" "Let us not sleep as 
do others, but let us watch and be sober;" "Watch thou 
in all things;" "What I say unto one I say unto all, 
watch." 

In order, however, to watch the heart faithfully, we 
must give constant heed to whatever concerns the forma- 
tion of moral character. This will depend upon the kind 
of knowledge we cultivate. If we cultivate an acquaint- 
ance with the world, its fashions, its maxims, its riches, 
and pursuits, and mind the things of the flesh, the certain 
result will be an earthly, sensual character. On the other 
hand, if we seek God and eschew evil, and mind the 
things of the Spirit, we will possess a spiritual character. 
The mind receives impressions of a corresponding nature 
with the things it cherisheth. "He that soweth to his 
flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption ; but he that sow- 
eth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." 
To keep our hearts, then, we must give diligent heed to 
the kind of knowledge we cultivate. All knowledge is 
either of internal or external origin. It is either received 
through the senses from without, or by the internal oper- 
ations of the mind from within. Hence, to keep the 
heart we must watch, first, what enters, and, second, what 
transpires within. 

We are called upon to watch what enters the heart. It 
is a matter of much importance whether we admit friends 
or foes, allies or enemies ; whether we throw open the por- 
tals to the indiscriminate entrance of all, or admit those 
only whose services will insure good. Most, if not all, 
the incipients of knowledge are derived, through the me- 
dium of the senses, from without. It has been advocated 
by all writers on the origin of ideas, that the mind entirely 
closed to the external world, would probably forever re- 
main a blank. It is doubtless without character before 
impressions of some kind are made; but after a few 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



193 



have been formed, they furnish an unfailing material of 
thought, which may be combined in reproductions un- 
ceasingly changed and endlessly varied. The nature of 
the mind's action will depend upon the nature of its 
impression. The thought, the mental operations, and 
hence the whole moral character, take their coloring from 
the objects entertained. It becomes, then, a question of 
great practical importance, that we guard, with assiduous 
attention, those inlets of knowledge termed the senses. 
They may be considered the avenues of the soul, through 
which it holds converse with the objective world, and de- 
rives the material of thought. They should be guarded 
with a vigilant eye, remembering that nothing useless is 
imported. "But," says the objector, "I can not help see- 
ing when an object is presented before my eyes, or hear- 
ing all sounds made within audible distance. My sensa- 
tions and perceptions are involuntary.' I This is true, 
but it is not true that you are involuntarily placed 
within their reach. When in proximity to vicious conver- 
sation, you can not but hear it ; but your being in that 
situation is voluntary, and here lies the accountability and 
consequent guilt. The command is, "Let thine eyes look 
right on, and thine eyelids straight before thee." David 
said, "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. Turn 
away mine eyes from beholding vanity. He that shutteth 
his eyes to seeing evil shall dwell on high." We should 
watch scrupulously both what we see and hear, for upon 
the nature of the things introduced will depend the inter- 
nal operations of the mind and moral character. 

The importance of this part of the subject can not be 
better enforced than by a reference to our early associ- 
ations. Contemplate, for a moment, their subsequent 
influence upon our characters. How have the visions of 
childhood, either as virtuous or vicious, exerted a corre- 
sponding influence upon our moral feeling? The things 

17 



194 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



we then saw and heard, still live as a savor of life or of 
death. Vicious scenes, early impressed, and more deeply 
fixed from the congeniality of the receptive powers, still 
live to vex the soul. How often is our peace of mind 
disturbed, our seasons of meditation interrupted, and our 
purest thoughts contaminated by our unholy recollections ! 
How often will a word or an action awaken association 
and flood the mind with thoughts we would have buried 
long ago in eternal forgetfulness ! When the chord has 
once been touched, and imagination is awakened, they 
come, however unwelcome ; yea, when the reflections 
seem clothed with naught but purity, they flit through 
the mind, and, like the fabled harpies, shake uncleanness 
from their filthy pinions. Guard, then, the eye and the 
ear, recollecting that whatever enters the mind, is indelibly 
engraven upon the tablets of memory as tenacious as the 
inscrutable records of eternity ; and when our final doom 
is read from the "book of life," our memories, faithful to 
their charge, will respond to every thought, word, and 
deed there recorded. 

We are to watch what transpires within, or the internal 
operations of mind. Our duty refers especially to those 
actions that are voluntary, and consists in "casting down 
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself 
against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought 
into captivity to the obedience of Christ.' ' God requires 
the service of the whole heart ; and we are not permitted 
to serve self with any of our powers. His commands are 
exceedingly broad. They not only lay restraint upon the 
outward act, but reach guilt where existing in conception. 
A physical act, aside from an intelligent agent, is without 
character. It resides alone in the motive — in the hid- 
den man of the heart. Hence, a man can be as vile a 
murderer or adulterer in thought as in deed. Such was 
the doctrine taught by Jesus Christ. He applied it to the 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



195 



hypocritical Jews, who made clean the outside of the cup 
and platter, while within they were full of extortion and 
excess. Let not the reader rest with watchfulness over 
the outward act merely, trusting to outward forms and 
ceremonies. The Lord, who searcheth the heart and 
knoweth its inward motions, and who will at last make 
manifest all its counsels, demands purity in the inward 
parts. We should watch, then, every power and faculty 
of the mind over which we have any control. 

(1.) Watch the attention. It may be denned as the 
mind's inspection of particular objects, or the fixing the 
mind's eye on any particular thing. The exercise of this 
faculty has much to do, not only with intellectual culture, 
but especially in the formation of correct spiritual habits, 
and the proper improvement of the means of grace. Cor- 
rect spiritual habits are obtained only by a due fixedness 
of the attention. How important, in our seasons of de- 
votion, that we learn to concentrate our thoughts ! Have 
we not often visited our closets with a wandering mind ? 
We presented an offering, it is true, but how unhallowed 
from vagrancy of mind ! There were solemn words, it is 
true, but how thoughtless the tongue that uttered them ! 

7 o o 

Without sincerity God abhors the offering and the offerer. 
It is drawing near to him with the mouth and doing honor 
with the lips, while the heart is far off. Let us not com- 
plain that our closets have no attractions till our sincerity 
is vindicated by thoughts fully fixed on God. The same 
is true of reading the Scriptures. How often are they 
read, while foreign objects are occupying the attention, so 
much so that scarcely a sentence is recollected ! And is 
this the manner we treat God's will to man ? Well may 
we expect leanness of soul. For a want of attention, how 
often do the public means of grace become worse than 
useless! We are commanded to "give the more earnest 
heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time 



196 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



we should let them slip." Consider the significance of 
this last expression. To let slip means to leak out. Alas, 
how many hearers of the word are like leaky vessels ! 
The precious truth may be poured in with a liberal hand, 
yet it is as water spilled upon the ground. Truth can 
never fasten on the conscience with effect, till, by atten- 
tion, it gains a permanent lodgment in the mind. Look 
into our churches. How many do you find sleeping under 
the most solemn appeals ! Bear this in mind : there is 
nothing so destructive to piety as a habit of listless inat- 
tention. 

(2.) Watch the imagination. It is the mind's power of 
combining ideas formerly presented. It thus becomes a 
source of virtue or vice. It enters the regions of memory, 
and there, from her rich and endless variety of material, 
it combines and recombines, fashions and shapes as fancy 
may dictate. Under virtuous and religious restraint, it is 
highly productive of happiness ; but give it loose reins ; 
let it revel amid scenes of vice, and wantonly range the 
fields of sensual and unhallowed pleasure ; feed it on fic- 
tion; energize with the corruptions of popular romance, 
and you open upon the soul the gates of a spiritual Pan- 
demonium. Perhaps the devil has no means by which he 
can so successfully attack the soul as through the imag- 
ination. By this he can fully supply the absence of out- 
ward excitants. Any scene, however full of voluptuous 
pleasure, can be presented to the mind with even a greater 
power than by the presence of the real object; for the 
imagination can supply any thing necessary to highten 
the effect. Thus armed, the enemy will assault the soul. 
The passions are awakened, and lust is engendered. Lust, 
when it is conceived, bringeth forth sin. Beware, then, 
how the imagination is allowed to wander. Chastise it 
early, constantly, remembering the adage that "the im- 
agination of the idle man is the devil's workshop," and 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



197 



that the "Lord understandeth all the imaginations of the 
thoughts.' ' 

(3.) Watch the actions of the sensibilities. Here all our 
acts take their rise, and receive their incipients of charac- 
ter. Without them there could be no such thing as char- 
acter, for they originate the idea of accountability, rewards 
and punishments. With every change of the mind emo- 
tions are produced. These are involuntary. They are 
followed by desires, and these must be watched so as to 
cherish or repel, according as their nature is good or evil. 
Our most important desires have been ranked under the 
affections, embracing two great antagonistic principles — 
love to God and selfishness. Upon their proper regulation 
depends the whole duty of keeping the heart. According 
as the one or the other is indulged, the other powers of 
the mind will be properly or improperly governed. Give 
unrestrained license to self-love, immediately the appe- 
tites assume the supremacy, the passions are inflamed, the 
propensities become ungovernable, the voice of conscience 
is unheard amid the incessant clamor of selfish and con- 
flicting interests, every virtuous principle dies, and a moral 
miasma infects the soul, more deadly than the death-deal- 
ing breath of the pestilence. On the other hand, let 
supreme love to God be the generic and predominant 
principle, and how different the picture ! All the inferior 
principles take their appropriate position. There is no 
jarring string in the sensibilities or intellect. God be- 
comes the center of the soul, around whom all the powers 
of the mind move in glorious harmony. All the Christian 
graces, like so many burning satellites, commence their 
revolutions, reflecting their borrowed light uninterrupted 
and unimpeded by unhallowed attractions. Hence so 
much stress is laid in Scripture upon the regulation and 
right exercise of the affections. On it depends the fulfill- 
ment of the whole law. 

17* 



198 



KEEPING THE HEART. 



But there is one other faculty that demands our serious 
attention, whose importance is often overlooked. It is 
Heaven's best gift to man. Dethrone it, and you efface 
from the soul every lineament of divinity, and forever blot 
out whatever of human dignity has survived the fall. 
The last ray of hope, still lingering around apostate hu- 
manity, would expire, and a moral night enshroud the 
soul with darkness more gloomy and fearful than ever 
settled down upon the waters of the Egyptian Nile. That 
faculty is conscience. It is the arbiter of mind. It dis- 
criminates what is right from what is wrong, inclining us 
to choose the right and refuse the wrong. When the pro- 
pensities are awakened, and the passions inflamed, they 
often make a terrible onset upon the soul. Then it is that 
conscience steps into the breach and raises its warning 
voice. The one is imperious, seeking only for present 
good, without respect to the means, the other sits in judg- 
ment upon the propriety and extent of those demands. 
The one asks what is good, the other inquires what is 
right. Watch, then, the decisions of conscience. Never 
yield to self-interest against the counter claims of moral 
sense. It is only by watching carefully and obeying un- 
hesitatingly these moral decisions, that we can gain a 
tender conscience, which, to the Christian, is above all 
price. Sensitive as the most delicate balance, it detects 
the least deflection from the path of rectitude. Like the 
sleepless, vigilant sentinel, it will allow the approach of 
no hostile footsteps without giving timely alarm. 

Do these respective duties, not in creature strength, but 
in humble, constant reliance upon Him who has said, 
"Without me ye can do nothing." Ever consider the 
interest you have at stake, the number and power of your 
enemies. Bear in mind the great motive by which the 
injunction of the text is enforced — out of your heart are 
the issues of life= Like the pure, perennial waters of the 



NECESSITY OF DIVINE SUPPORT. 



199 



fountain, like the vital current from the heart, that bear 
in their ceaseless now the elements of life, beauty, and 
happiness, you are called upon to send forth streams that 
will gladden and vivify, refresh and fertilize in their course, 
making the traces of your life's journey like those of the 
river in the desert, marked with perpetual fertility, with 
lines of fadeless green and ever- enduring bloom; where 
germinates the "incorruptible seed" of eternal life, whose 
fruit is unto holiness and the end immortal blessedness. 



SEEMON XIY. 

BY REV. NATHANIEL WES TEEM AN. 

NECESSITY OF DIVINE SUPPORT. 

"If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then 
how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein 
thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling 
of Jordan?" Jekemiah xn, 5. 

Introduction. Man's life is a warfare upon earth. 
Whatever gives him pain he seeks to shun or conquer, as 
he would an enemy ; and those enemies, the perplexities 
and ills that flesh is heir to, are various and innumerable. 
They come against man like an army, from all the ele- 
ments, from all the seasons, through all his senses, and 
through all changes of times, persons, and places. Nfor 
can his vigilance elude them, nor his strength repel them. 
No ; not all the advantages of birth, fortune, and genius 
can afford him a shelter from the " blast of those terrible 
ones when it comes as a storm against the wall." The 
life of every man confirms the inspired statement, that 
"he is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." Trouble 
begins and ends, and is distributed through life, so that 
"sufficient unto the day [every day] is the evil thereof" — 



200 



NECESSITY OF DIVINE SUPPORT. 



sufficient to try man's strength and to prove it weakness. 
The ills of life's brightest period are wearisome and per- 
plexing. How insupportable, then, must be the seasons 
of heavy affliction and dark adversity, when, "in many 
days, neither sun nor stars appear;" when human skill, 
and sympathy, and strength essay in vain to give relief! 
And yet, my friends, how tardy we are to make God our 
refuge ! How often do unbelief, stupidity, and pride 
make men try to do without God, till they can scarcely be 
saved — till it is only as by the skin of their teeth they 
miss of everlasting burnings — while goodness and wrath, 
promises and threatenings, encouragements and expostu- 
lations are alike and altogether thrown away on multitudes 
that hate wisdom and love death ! Now, that we may not 
be "led away by the error of the wicked," let us consider, 

I. That the common ills of life must render us un- 
happy WITHOUT THE FAVOR OF GOD. But that 

II. The calamities of life will be overwhelming 
without Divine support. 

I. 1. Of the common ills of life, many arise from inex- 
perience. Poets and sages have conspired to celebrate the 
happiness of the morning of life. Then men are thought 
to be free from care, and to enjoy a progressive increase 
of knowledge. All the senses are active, while the varied 
world still affords new subjects to gratify the curiosity, 
inform the understanding, and delight the fancy. But 
unsuspecting youth discerns not the deceitful glare that is 
thrown over human conduct and earthly possessions. By 
the fall men have lost happiness, but gained pride, by 
which they seek to disguise their loss. The practiced 
smile and exciting laugh are made to cover the darkest 
purposes; and youthful inexperience, mistaking the as- 
sumed semblance of good for the substance, grasps at a 
shadow, and embraces a sickening disappointment. Thus 
the unsuspecting Shechemites of old fell, and the iron- 



NECESSITY OF DIVINE SUPPORT. 



201 



sinewed Samson; and every generation furnishes unwary 
victims to the cruel and vengeful Simeons and Levis that 
precede it or the treacherous Delilahs that accompany it. 
It is thus that crafty gamblers and bar-keepers, with 
tongues as smooth as oil, are mistaken for friends ; and 
places of midnight revelry and frantic mirth, the very hot- 
beds of the direst ills that plague mankind, are mistaken 
for the fountains of pleasure. We grant that these exam- 
ples may be a little too strong for common life ; but yet a 
general cause, producing occasionally such baneful effects, 
does, in its ordinary operation, give rise to evils sufficient 
to imbitter the life, not only of the subject of such rash- 
ness, but often much more of those who are nearly asso- 
ciated with him. 

2. Physical suffering from severe labor is another source 
of unhappiness to man. Many mechanical pursuits are 
injurious to health, either from the position of the work- 
man, or the exposure of his body to heat or cold, or to 
sudden transitions from one to the other. The protracted 
confinement in unventilated rooms, or the dust or effluvia 
from the raw material worked up, might also be added. 
These give the mechanic to feel, more than he that tills 
the earth, the force of the curse, " In the sweat of thy 
face shalt thou eat thy bread till thou return unto the 
ground." Many kill themselves to keep themselves ; and 
it was an appalling thought, wrung from the anguished 
heart of a daughter of toil, 

"0 God! that bread should be so dear, 
And flesh and blood so cheap!" 

Let it be admitted, again, that these last are extreme 
eases ; that, in our happy country, such instances of wast- 
ing toil are rarely found; yet he has but little practical 
acquaintance with mankind who does not know that mul- 
titudes are compelled daily to exert themselves for support 
to the point of extreme weariness, if not distress. 



202 



NECESSITY OF DIVINE SUPPORT. 



3. Nor are the sons of luxury and wealth exempted. 
He that has wealth usually wishes to keep it and increase 
it; and to do either requires exertion. As riches are gen- 
erally the treasure of those that possess them, there is a 
morbid and carking anxiety for their security, and such 
vexation, even at trivial losses, as leaves them but little 
peace. 

4. To these we might add the miseries arising from the 
various acute and painful diseases or vexatious accidents, 
which, although neither fatal nor dangerous, are yet suf- 
ficiently wearisome; and then how small a part of the 
miseries of mankind shall we have glanced at, the far 
greater part arising from wicked tempers, anger, pride, 
jealousy, and self-will ! It is through these that 

"Man's inhumanity to man 

Makes countless thousands mourn." 

For the crowd that throng the downward road "live in 
malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.' ' The 
envenomed tongue of slander, to which "sharp arrows of 
the Almighty shall be given, with coals of juniper;" that 
"world of iniquity that setteth on fire the course of nature 
and is set on fire of hell:" alas! how many have their 
lives imbittered by its baneful operation ! 

5. It must be admitted that wit and satire have their 
legitimate uses ; but they are keen-edged weapons, and 
are often dipped in poison by professed wits and satirists. 
Some men, finding themselves in possession of a quick 
sense of the ludicrous, easily fall into the habit of refer- 
ring to paradoxes or whimsical coincidences that occur to 
them in debate or common discourse. When these witti- 
cisms embrace personalities, they often sting deeply ; and 
as are the wounds which wit and sarcasm inflict, so are 
the resentments they generate ; and, in the light of mere 
reason, no satirist should expect the man he has made a 
public laughing-stock ever to forgive him. Yet such is the 



NECESSITY OF DIVINE SUPPORT. 



203 



depravity of human nature that, in party strife, the biting- 
sarcasm is loudly applauded ; and this, feeding at once 
both the rancor and vanity of the satirist, he becomes so 
fond of using his weapon, that, upon the slightest affront, 
or, rather than miss an opportunity of making himself 
felt, he will strike his best friend, and change him, in a 
moment, into an irreconcilable enemy. Pursuing this 
course, he comes to be generally hated or dreaded as an 
armed maniac in whose presence no one is safe. And 
would it not be strange if those who have cultivated a 
spirit so unfriendly to the quiet and peace of mankind 
should themselves enjoy serenity? Jonathan Swift, the 
prince of wits, and John Randolph, that master of sar- 
casm — were they happy men? The former, in a ramble 
with some literary friends, was seen gazing at the blasted 
top of a forest tree, and exclaiming, "I shall go like that 
tree. I shall wither at the top first;" which sad predic- 
tion was verified in the deplorable lunacy of his latter 
years. That mind which prided itself in its fervor, and 
had been employed oft, even for amusement, in lashing 
the weaknesses and errors of others, became, in itself, all 
weakness and error in the end. And of the latter it is 
affirmed, that, about the melancholy close of his life, 
he reached out his tawny, skeleton hand, and, drawing to 
him a card, wrote the single word, " Remorse." That 
word spoke volumes. It expressed, in the most condensed 
form, the natural effect of a keen and unbridled sarcastic 
vein in a public man. Now, whatever so strongly tends 
to produce dire enmity between men must, in every grade 
of its unsanctified use, be productive of much misery. 

6. Ambition is a fruitful source of evil. Not to speak 
of the floods of human gore with which it has deluged 
the earth, the efforts for intellectual pre-eminence are 
painful. Who can expect to excel as a man of mind with- 
out much study? and this is a " weariness to the flesh." 



204 



NECESSITY OF DIVINE SUPPORT. 



In the race for distinction, all can not be successful. The 
far greater part must be defeated and disappointed. The 
advantages sought by the student are not like the pebbles 
found on ocean's shore, but like the pearls that must be 
drawn from its depths. Ere he leaves college he feels the 
effects of rivalry, and it is well if the trial of his strength 
with others does not lead to chagrin, that must be con- 
cealed, to avoid the more dreaded sting- of scorn and 
ridicule. Inferiority of natural capacity or of previous 
opportunities, the real or suspected bias of the judges, 
and an unfortunate hebetude at the time of trial — some, or 
all of these evils, have convinced many a sanguine heart 

" How hard it is to climb 
The steep where Fame's proud temple shines afar. 
Ah ! who can tell how many a soul sublime 
Has felt the influence of malignant star, 
And waged with fortune an eternal war!" 

Thus many intellectual men, even in the morning of life, 
are actually weary and heavy laden ; and happy are they 
who thence discover this world's emptiness. They hear 
the Savior's invitation, and go to him for rest. 

Nor is the successful aspirant to fame any better off. 
Even when genius is favored by fortune, and a brilliant 
course is the result, this does not hinder its being a miser- 
able one. Voltaire shuddered at heart, and " feared he 
would die with glory," when his impious plots had suc- 
ceeded, and his frantic admirers bore him into the theater. 
Herod was smitten by the Almighty, and brought to a 
loathsome death, at the moment of his triumphant deifica- 
tion. The period of the consummation of great, ambitious 
aims is dreadfully critical. Partial success may cause 
temporary enjoyment ; but complete triumph is almost 
certain ruin. Let it be observed that the ills arising from 
all-pervading rivalry are common ills, belonging to all 
periods and circumstances of unrenewed life. As ambi- 



NECESSITY OF DIVINE SUPPORT. 



205 



tion is natural to man, so competition is natural to society ; 
and how often, after a long and toilsome day, does the 
husband and father return home with a clouded counte- 
nance and a troubled mind, not from the want of actual 
success, but comparative ; he has failed to cope with a 
rival or reach his own expectations. 

And how closely to a father's heart lie the interests of 
his children ! How eagerly he desires their success in 
life ! What disadvantage, or loss, or suffering of any 
kind can they endure but it wounds him ! And then, 
again, to the earthly mind, the loss of money or of other 
creature comforts is the loss of the best things. Conse- 
quently, when these depart, hope departs. The founda- 
tion gives way, and the house built on the sand totters to 
its fall. But these, as already observed, are common 
troubles, encountered in the midst of general prosperity. 
These "footmen" weary us. These ordinary evils make, 
at times, man's life a burden to him. How, then, can he 
stand the real calamities resulting from floods and con- 
flagrations, frauds and villainies, that impoverish men in a 
day; the loss of friends, of reputation, of health? 0, 
who can contend against these foes, that, like fierce cav- 
alry pursuing a weary and disheartened soldier, leave 
him no hope? If in the land of peace wherein thou 
trustedst, they wearied thee ; if in health, among friends, 
in the strength of thy years, they wearied thee, how wilt 
thou do in the swelling of Jordan, when calamities come 
upon thee as an avalanche ? thy beloved children being 
plucked in a moment from thy embraces, or the friend 
who is as thine own soul ? when fieree disease brings thee 
in view of the king of terrors? 

This is the second point presented in the text : 
II. The calamities incident to life in every condi- 
tion ARE INSUPPORTABLE WITHOUT THE FAVOR OF GOD. 

1. Loss of wealth. Insensibility is not strength any 
IP, 



206 



NECESSITY OF DIVINE SUPPORT. 



more than stubborness is wisdom. We may safely affirm 
that it is not in human nature to see all the elements of 
enjoyment depart without a shuddering, overwhelming 
sense of woe. Money answereth all things, is the leading 
maxim of this world. Hence, with the earthly mind, to 
lose money is to lose the grand elements of enjoyment, 
the great means of happiness. But the sudden and unex- 
pected loss of large property is an every-day occurrence ; 
and experience, as well as Scripture, teaches us that 
riches make to themselves wings and fly away, as an eagle 
toward heaven, quite beyond our reach. And, alas ! how 
often does suicide, either direct by violence, or indirect by 
a sudden plunge into intemperance, prove that such losses 
destroy the enjoyment of the earthly mind, but induce 
misery less tolerable than death itself! 

2. The loss of our children by death is another of the 
most formidable ills of life. To see them wilt and wither 
like the blasted flower, or hear them groan and scream 
with agony, and no better relief in prospect than gloomy 
death affords, who can endure this without Divine sup- 
port ? To refuse to feel in such cases, or, when distressed, 
to stay up the heart with earthly, selfish consolations, is 
the only alternative to a soul that knows not God, yet 
dreads despair. Ah! sinner, "what wilt thou do in such 
a fearful dilemma ?" To true affection, either way seems 
base, and, at best, is a refuge of lies. 

3. But it is natural to regard a man's own last sickness 
as the time of his greatest trial. Then, indeed, he expe- 
riences the swelling of Jordan, when a rill from the river 
of death, laving his feet, gives the chilling notice that he 
is nearing the dark-rolling flood. Brought to the confines 
of time, with no hope beyond it, what avail human re- 
sources ? What place is there for strength and sagacity 
to devise ways and means in a world which itself is reced- 
ing and disappearing forever? It is with God, judgment, 



.NECESSITY OF DIVINE SUPPORT. 



207 



and eternity he now has to do. He is under the law 
which curses every one that "continueth not in all things 
written therein to do them." "He is condemned already " 
by his own conscience; by the word of God in general 
and in particular ; by the law and by the Gospel ; by all 
the threatenings, doctrines, and promises of the Bible ; by 
all its warnings, its recorded experiences, examples, and 
histories ; yea, doubtless by every book, and chapter, and 
verse, and letter in God's holy book. The Spirit and 
Church of the living God ; the arrangements of Provi- 
dence, general and particular ; the varying seasons ; nay, 
all the successive days and nights of his worthless life 
bear witness against him. "What, then, will he do?" 

Distress, in common life, finds sympathy its sweetest 
solace ; but where will the dying sinner look for sym- 
pathy ? Divine sympathy he has despised, till he has 
made God his enemy. Human sympathy can not reach 
him now. Angelic pity gave him up when God deserted 
him ; and now what fate awaits him but to be the sport of 
fiends and of the flames of hell? 0, sinner, stop and 
turn thee ! Venture not another step in the broad, the 
downward road. Let present ills remind thee that God is 
angry with thee — that continuance in sin is laying up 
wrath which will make the close of thy life hopeless, and 
introduce thee to a world of woe, "where the worm dieth 
not and the fire is not quenched.' ' God has no pleasure 
in thy death. He did not make thee to be damned. 
No. "It is a faithful saying and worthy of all accept- 
ation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners.' 

" God, the offended God most high, 
Embassadors to rebels sends ; 
His messengers his place supply, 
And Jesus begs us to be friends." 

Listen, listen to the voice of mercy! for "why wilt 
thou die?" Thou art now unhappy and without Christ. 



208 



THE DUTY OF REVERENCE 



Thou canst do nothing to support thy soul under adver- 
sity, much less to ward off the curse of the law. Then 
fly, by repentance and faith, to rest thy soul, thy all, in 
the hands .of thy Redeemer. " Thou hast run with the 
footmen, and they have wearied thee. Th^n how canst 
thou contend with horses ? And if in the land of peace, 
wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, how wilt thou 
do in the swelling of Jordan?" 



SEEMON XV. 

BY RE Y. JOHN MILEY. 

THE DUTY OF REVERENCE IN APPROACHING GOD. 

" Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I 
will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I 
will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace," Leviticus x, 3. 

This text will instruct us as to the disposition of mind 
in which we should approach the Lord. It indicates and 
enjoins that sanctified reverence and holy awe that we 
should feel when we come nigh him. The occasion of the 
text is a very interesting and striking incident, and will 
serve to introduce the subject which it furnishes to our 
notice, and also to impress us with its importance. 

Aaron and his sons were divinely appointed and conse- 
crated to the priestly ofiice. In the fulfillment of the 
duties of this ofiice, they were to offer the different sacri- 
fices enjoined in the law; and they were to perform this 
service in the method and with the observances prescribed 
by the law. One thing to be observed was, that strange 
or common fire should not be used in offering sacrifices or 
burning incense. The fire required was of a celestial- 
kind. It was to be given at the first by the Lord, and 



IN APPROACHING GOD. 209 

then to be perpetually preserved, or to be again directly 
given upon special occasions. Numerous incidents are 
recorded in the Scriptures as interesting occasions upon 
which this sacred fire was given. When Aaron and his 
sons were consecrated to the priestly office, various sacri- 
fices and offerings were made to the Lord: " And Moses 
and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, 
and came out and blessed the people ; and the glory of the 
Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a 
fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the 
altar the burnt- offering and the fat, which when all the 
people saw, they shouted and fell on their faces.' ' Gideon 
placed his offerings, according to Divine directions, upon a 
rock. "Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of 
the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and 
the unleavened cakes ; and there arose up fire out of the 
rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. 
Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight." 
Elijah, in his ever-memorable controversy with the proph- 
ets of Baal, offered his sacrifice upon the rebuilt altar of 
the Lord, and lifted up his heart and voice in prayer to 
"the God that answereth by fire." "Then the fire of the 
Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, 
and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that 
was in the trench;" "Now, when Solomon had made an 
end of praying, [at the dedication of the temple,] the fire 
came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt- offering 
and the sacrifices ; and the glory of the Lord filled the 
temple." These instances were in accordance with the 
Divine plan, which required celestial fire for the consump- 
tion of the sacrifices and burnt-offerings of the law. Such 
was the order of God. This order Nadab and Abihu 
transgressed ; and thus they brought upon themselves the 
curse of God. "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of 
Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, 

18* 



210 



THE DUTY OF REVERENCE 



and put incense thereon, and offered strange lire before the 
Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went 
out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died 
before the Lord." 

How fearful the threatening^ against innovations upon 
the institutions and order of God — against adding to or 
subtracting from his sacred word: "Add thou not unto 
his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar;" 
" Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves 
about with sparks : walk in the light of your fire, and in 
the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of 
my hand : ye shall lie down in sorrow;" "For I testify 
unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy 
of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, 
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in 
this book: and if any man shall take away from the 
words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away 
his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, 
and from the things which are written in this book." 

Such, then, was the wickedness, such the destruction of 
Kadab and Abihu. Such was the occasion upon which 
Moses uttered the solemn words of the text which we 
have selected: "This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I 
will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before 
all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his 
peace." In the further treatment of this subject, we pro- 
pose to view it as enjoining generally the duty of reverence 
in approaching God. Such is the general subject of this 
sermon. Various particulars will be embraced in the 
plan of discussion which we propose. 

I. The reverence required of us in approaching the 
Lord. 

This is expressed in the word sanctified: "I will be 
sanctified in them that come nigh me." The word to 
sanctify has various meanings as it is used in Scripture. 



IN APPROACHING GOD. 



211 



In the first place, it means to consecrate or devote — to 
separate or set apart from a common to a sacred use, from 
secular offices to the service of God. In this use of the 
term it has the same sense, whether applied to places, 
cities, temples, altars, or persons. Thus the place where 
Moses stood when the Lord spoke to him from the burning 
bush, Mount Zion, Jerusalem, the temple and its altars 
and vessels, were all holy or sanctified. They were con- 
secrated by the presence and to the service of God. So 
the children of Israel were a ' 'holy nation* ' — a nation 
sanctified or set apart to God. 

The next import of the term is to make pure, holy, up- 
right, blameless. In these senses it can apply only to per- 
sons, as having a moral nature, and capable of moral 
purity and upright action ; and when applied to them in 
these significations, it imports purity of heart and upright- 
ness of life. 

Further and finally, the term means to respect, to ven- 
erate, to reverence, to hallow. All these are embraced in 
the meaning of the word sanctified as it is used in the 
text. It, therefore, very plainly furnishes us with the gen- 
eral subject of reverence for God as a duty in approaching 
him. This reverence implies several things, which we may 
briefly notice. 

1. Thoughtfulness of God. Without this we can not 
reverence him. To be thoughtless of him, particularly 
when in attendance upon the sacred services of religious 
worship, is to treat him with the greatest indignity. There 
is a courtesy, a proper respect that is due even to men of 
elevated character and worth, and of commanding posi- 
tion ; and he who would disregard these things, and act in 
their presence as though they were absent, would be justly 
chargeable with unbecoming and offensive rudeness of 
character. To be forgetful of our friends or benefactors, 
or to dismiss from our minds the recollection of our earthly 



212 



THE DUTY OF REVERENCE 



parents, is to withhold from them that regard and venera- 
tion which they deserve, and to deport ourselves most dis- 
respectfully toward them. But if due respect for men, or 
for earthly benefactors or friends, is demanded of us, par- 
ticularly while in their presence, how much more is it de- 
manded of us while in the presence of God ! His great- 
ness, his glorious majesty, his boundless goodness, his 
universal presence and government, his sleepless watch- 
care over us, his ceaseless benefits dispensed to us, all for- 
bid us to forget him. They forcibly claim and should 
fully command our thoughtfulness of God. 

" Consider this, ye that forget God." Forgetfulness of 
him indicates an absence of almost every Christian prin- 
ciple or virtue — an absence of love and fear, of reverence 
and adoration, of gratitude and obedience. These can 
not exist where he is forgotten. Strange it is that so 
many forget God ! A thousand things of the most trivial 
and transient character, that pass away and perish in a 
day, engage their thoughts and engross their affections, 
while the Creator and Preserver of the universe is forgot- 
ten. It is with many now as it was with the heathen of 
old, who "did not like to retain God in their knowledge/ * 
Thus men live as though he did not exist ; courses of life 
are pursued as though not prohibited by his divine law ; 
forbidden objects are sought as though not interdicted by 
his sacred word ; the neglect of a thousand duties creates 
no concern, no apprehension of his displeasure. 

2. An apprehension and impression of the greatness 
and goodness of God. True greatness and commanding 
worth constitute the only proper object of reverence. 
These alone, as united in the same being, and embraced in 
the same view, can create or call forth into proper exercise 
this disposition of the soul. The greatness and goodness 
of God, thus embraced in one view, can alone call forth 
the disposition of due reverence for him. Mere greatness 



IN APPROACHING GOD. 



213 



may inspire an apprehension of evil, a painful sense of 
fear ; or it may call forth into intense exercise our feelings 
of wonder or surprise, of deep and silent awe. But all 
these feelings will be destitute of the proper characteris- 
tics of true, sacred reverence. Again: mere goodness 
may excite in us affections of approval, of gratitude and 
delight, of admiration and love. But all these will be 
void of the true nature of godly reverence. Reverence 
views, at once and together, the greatness and goodness 
of God, and derives its peculiar character from that view. 
It blends in one the feelings of wonder and delight, of 
fear and hope, of dread and confidence, of awe and love. 
These, coalescing in one, constitute that true disposition 
of reverence which all should feel while in the presence 
of God. Thus there arises in the soul an all-pervasive, 
a profound and sacred sense of God. This is reverence. 

3. An acquiescence in the will of God. There must be 
this acquiescence, whether that will be expressed in the 
written revelation of God or in the dispensations of his 
providence. At the foundation of such acquiescence there 
must be a lively faith in the wisdom and goodness of God ; 
a faith that acknowledges his righteousness in all his ways ; 
a faith that yields a cheerful submission to all his provi- 
dences, whether prosperous or adverse ; a faith that ac- 
credits and approves all his written word; a faith that 
respects and conforms to all the divinely- appointed forms 
and observances, institutions and usages of religion; a 
faith that yields obedience to all the precepts or duties of 
his word. How forcible and impressive is the expression 
of Aaron's submission to the afflictive providence of God 
in the destruction of his two sons, " And Aaron held his 
peace!" A father's heart was in him, and a father's 
affection went forth toward his sons ; deep anguish was 
moving through his whole soul; but there was no mur- 
muring ; no utterance of complaints ; no manifestation of 



214 



THE DUTY OF REVERENCE 



rebellion; no uprising of hostile feelings toward God. 
" Aaron held his peace." His lively faith in the wisdom 
and goodness of God enabled him quietly and submis- 
sively to acquiesce in this dispensation. Thus he rever- 
enced God; thus he glorified him before all the people. 
The course of Nadab and Abihu was different. They 
would not observe the order instituted of God. This was 
their sin, and thus they refused that reverence which is 
due to him. 

4. A supreme respect to the glory of God. Such 
respect for the glory of God has, for its foundation, proper 
views of our own insignificance and unworthiness, of the 
comparative insignificance and unworthiness of all things 
of creature character, and of the supreme excellence and 
claims of God. The man of inordinate self-esteem, or of 
selfish purposes as the ruling motives of life, can not duly 
reverence God. His own interests and claims are, in his 
view, superior to those of his Creator and Sovereign. 
The authority of God's word, the interests of his govern- 
ment, the prosperity of his Church, the triumph of his 
cause, the display of his glory, are, with all such, matters 
of minor concern, and not at all to stand in comparison 
with their own interests. Such may often say, "Lord, 
Lord;" their lips may be ever clothed with the "hallowed 
be thy name;" yet with them God is lightly esteemed; 
his name despised, rather than hallowed, dishonored 
rather than glorified. 

The same is true of all those who give themselves to 
the pursuit of worldly objects, as the chief ends and inter- 
ests of man. God is displaced from their view, while 
worldly objects fill their whole vision, engross their 
thoughts and affections, and command their most earnest 
efforts and pursuits. In the view of such, a thousand 
things of earth are more prominent and important than 
the Sovereign of the universe. This is as much true of 



IN APPROACHING GOD. 



215 



the time-serving, pleasure-taking, mammon-seeking, fash- 
ion-following millions of the present age, as it was of the 
heathen of Egypt or Assyria, of Greece or Rome, who, 
"when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, nei- 
ther were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, 
and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing them- 
selves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the 
glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like 
to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, 
and creeping things ; ... who changed the truth of God 
into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more 
than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." With 
the worldlings of Christian lands, of whom we are now 
speaking, the grossness and the form of this heathen idol- 
atry have passed away ; but the spirit, the living, polluting 
soul of it, remains, and is none the less dishonoring to 
God, or irreverent and offensive in his sight. All such 
are of the world. Would that they were only in the 
world ! Alas ! too many such are in the Church ! 

II. Some instances of nigh approach to God, as occa- 
sions UPON WHICH WE SHOULD SPECIALLY REVERENCE HIM. 

As a general truth we are ever in the presence of God. 
Therefore, we should ever cherish in our soul a sense of 
his presence, and a disposition of reverence toward him. 
God is every- where. There is no escape from his pres- 
ence, or from the gaze of his all-seeing eye. "Whithei 
shall I go from thy Spirit ? or whither shall I flee from 
thy presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ; 
if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take 
the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost 
parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and 
thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the dark- 
ness shall cover me: even the night shall be light about 
me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee ; but th.e 
night shineth as the day ; the darkness and the light are 



216 



THE DUTY OF REVERENCE 



both alike to thee." Who can be unmindful of all this? 
Who can forget the solemn truth, " Thou, God, seest me ?" 
Or who, recollecting it, can be indifferent to it? But let 
us note some instances of nigh approach to God. 

1. We come nigh to him when we vieiu or examine his 
works. These indicate his being, his attributes, his pres- 
ence. Nature is God's temple ; he dwells in it — in every 
department of it. Into whatever of its courts we enter, 
we press into his presence. On all such occasions, at all 
such times, we should reverence God. 

The chemist, as he stands in his laboratory, and ana- 
lyzes or synthetizes the various material substances, ascer- 
tains the simple elements of nature, their properties and 
laws, their affinities and repulsions, their combinations and 
uses, should stand in awe, as in the presence of the Author 
of nature. 

The naturalist, as he ranges the wide fields, animate 
and inanimate, of his inquiries ; as he delves the depths 
of earth and ocean, exploring the wonders of the past and 
the present ; as he arranges in consecutive order the geo- 
logical periods, determining the formations and orders of 
animate existence belonging to each ; as he presses on in 
his inquiries through all the hidden secrets of the physical 
world ; as he traces the various ages and orders of animal 
existence from the lowest up to the highest, from the ear- 
liest down to the latest ; as he develops their organisms 
and endowments, their instincts and habits, their employ- 
ments and products; through all and in all he should 
trace the footsteps and handiwork of that divine Being 
whose creative fiat gave existence and endowments to all, 
and whose providence supported, controlled, and directed 
all. And thus, as he explores nature, he should ever bear 
upon his soul a sense of the Divine presence, and, through 
all and in all, reverence the God of nature. 

The psychologist, as he sits in his study and investigates 



IN APPROACHING GOD. 



217 



the mind, analyzes and ascertains its powers of thought 
• and reason, evolves its various and vast emotions ; he, too, 
should ever be solemnly impressed, as in the presence of 
that infinite Mind whence spring all human minds, and 
who takes cognizance of all their thoughts, and feelings, 
and purposes, and will hold them to a strict accountability 
at the great judgment day. 

The traveler goes forth to commune with nature. He 
wanders through forest and field, over mountain and vale ; 
loiters along the streamlet's winding way ; pursues the 
river's wider, deeper flow ; stands gazing where the cata- 
ract, with fearful bound, leaps into the abyss below ; rides 
upon the ocean's rolling billow; in all and over all he 
should realize the presence and agency of God. In every 
step of his progress, in every beauteous scene over which 
his delighted eye is glancing, in every awe -impressing 
scene of the grand and the majestic, he should feel that 
God is present, and hallow his name. 

The astronomer goes forth amid the heavens, where star 
shines to star, sun beams to sun, system circles system. 
He gazes in rapture upon the stellar skies ; counts the 
worlds that are rolling around and above him ; determines 
their distances and velocities ; weighs them as in scales. 
He, too, should feel himself in the presence and reverence 
the majesty of God, at whose command they sprang into 
being, by whose word they are sustained, and whose glory 
they display. 

" An undevout astronomer is mad." 
2. We come nigh to God when we read his word. The 
Scriptures are given by Divine inspiration, and are divine. 
They came from God, and bear to all the impress of their 
divine original. " The law of God — speaking after the 
manner of men — is a copy of the eternal mind — a tran- 
script of the Divine nature ; yea, it is the fairest offspring 
of the everlasting Father; the brightest efflux of his 

19 



218 



THE DUTY OF REVERENCE 



essential wisdom; the visible beauty of the Most Hio-h." 
The doctrines, duties, threatenings, promises of sacred 
Scripture, all are from God. They are the word of the 
Lord — his own lively oracles. When, therefore, we read 
the Scriptures, we should remember that God is speaking 
to us in his own word, as with his own voice, and that 
while we read we stand in his Divine presence, and should 
reverence him who speaks. Think you the high -priest 
would have approached thoughtlessly or carelessly the 
mercy- seat, upon which, and amid the hovering wings of 
the cherubim, the Shechinah, or Divine Presence, rested, 
and from which the Divine oracles were given out by an 
audible voice ? And no more should we come thouofht- 
lessly or carelessly to the reading of God's sacred, living 
word. While we read, we should reverence him in whose 
presence we are, and whose word we read. 

3. We come nigh to God when we join in the psalms 
and hymns, the sacred songs and melodies of Zion. All 
these contain much of sacred truth, much of divinity. 
They embody the sacred titles of Deity ; they contain de- 
scriptions of the being and character of God, of his attri- 
butes and works, of redemption. How profane to sing 
with levity, 

"Before Jehovah's awful throne, 

Ye nations bow with sacred joy ; 
Know that the Lord is God alone, 
He can create, and he destroy !" 

What profanity, what disrespect for the sacred solemni= 
ties of religious worship, what an insult to the infinite 
majesty of Deity thus to sing, 

'•God is in heaven, and men below; 
Be short our tunes; our words be few: 
A solemn rev'rence checks our songs, 
And praise sits silent on our tongues i n 

How irreverent, how offensive to the Most High, what 
trifling with his infinite mercy, what contempt of his dying 



IN APPROACHING GOD. 



219 



love, to sing, with a mind void of thought, and a heart 

void of feeling, 

" Alas ! and did my Savior bleed ? 
And did my Sov'reign die ? 
Would he devote that sacred head 
For such a worm as I?" 

The angels and seraphs, the thrones and dominions, the 
principalities and powers of thy presence, God, treat 
thee not thus. 

"Thee while the first archangel srngs, 
He hides his face behind his wings ; 
And ranks of shining thrones around 
Fall worshiping, and spread the ground." 

How much more does a sacred reverence, a solemn, 
soul-pervading awe become us, while we thus approach 
the Lord ! 

4. When we pray we specially come nigh the Lord. 
Prayer is an address to God ; it is speaking to him ; an 
hour of converse with him ; a season of audience with the 
Deity. The same is true whether we join in the prayers 
of the public assemblages of God's house or in the more 
private circles of his children ; whether we pray alone in 
our chamber, or join in the devotions at the family altar. 
In all there is an approaching unto God. Then shall we 
carelessly or irreverently enter into the place of supplica- 
tion, or assume the attitudes, the language, and the senti- 
ments of prayer? Shall we approach into his presence, 
and assume to converse with him in prayer, while our 
thoughts and affections are far away? Far be such im- 
pious profanity from us ! 

5. We approach the Lord when we come into his house. 
It is there that he records his name ; there his honor 
dwells; there his presence abides. And thus is given 
such sacredness to the sanctuary of God as requires rev- 
erence of us while we enter or remain therein. Even the 
heathen have ever regarded and approached the temples, 



220 



THE DUTY OF REVERENCE 



and groves, and altars of their vain idols with profound 
solemnity. So the Jews regarded and approached both 
the tabernacle and the temple with reverence and awe. 
Surely, then, while we come into God's house, and draw 
nigh to his presence, we should hallow his name. He is 
truly present there. There the beauty of his truth and 
grace is displayed ; the brightness of his glory beams 
forth ; the riches of his holiness and love are made mani- 
fest. He is verily present in the power and offices of his 
Holy Spirit. 

Then how unbecoming, how wicked and profane, are 
thoughtlessness and levity in the house of God ! How 
irreverent to allow our thoughts and affections to be occu- 
pied rather with the vanities of life than with the solemni- 
ties of sacred worship ! How undevout and impious to be 
more interested with the appearance of those around us 
than impressed with the presence of God ! How profane 
any attempt at display, with a view to arrest attention, to 
catch the eye and secure the admiration of others ! This, 
in the sentiment of Massilon, is an attempt to rival the 
Savior, and to draw away the people from him whose 
glory should attract all eyes, whose goodness should 
charm and possess all hearts. 

6. In the ministry of the ivord and of the sacraments 
of our holy religion, we come nigh to God. Even Nadab 
and Abihu came nigh him, though they came in a profane 
way, and with unauthorized observances. While we min- 
ister to the people from the sacred treasury of the Gospel ; 
while we proclaim the ministry of reconciliation which 
God has committed to us ; while we do this as embassa- 
dors for Christ, persuaded that God has commissioned us 
to this work in his stead, surely we should feel that we 
are in the immediate presence of God, and that reverence 
becometh us. How shall we feel otherwise while we speak 
for God ; while we preach Christ crucified ; while we pro- 



IN APPROACHING GOD. 



221 



claim the tidings and the terms of salvation to perishing 
souls; while we disclose the momentous destinies of a 
coming eternity ? And the same solemnity should char- 
acterize us while we administer the sacred ordinances, the 
solemn sacraments of religion, which represent the work 
of the Spirit and the redemption of Christ. 

High- Churchmen quote the disorderly intrusion of Ko- 
ran, Dathan, and Abiram into sacred things, as an exam- 
ple of the wickedness of those ministers not in the line 
of their technical, apostolic succession. We may repay 
this favor by calling their attention to the case of Nadab 
and Abihu. They, so far as orders were concerned, were 
not disorderly intruders into the priestly office. Yet they 
committed this great sin and received their fearful doom. 
And, doubtless, many of those in the line of this succes- 
sion of High- Churchmen, by the perversion of the truth 
and the introduction of false ceremonies and sacraments 
into religious worship, have committed like sins. And 
yet, while guilty of the sin and deserving the doom of 
Nadab and Abihu, they are essential links in the chain of 
succession, without which it can not be made out. While, 
therefore, they address to us the other example, upon a 
proposition which assumes to stamp with a disorderly, 
irreverent, and wicked intrusion into sacred things nearly 
all the evangelical ministers of our country, we may repay 
the kindness by addressing to them this example, which 
should at least teach them a little modesty, and remind 
them of the solemn words of Moses: "This is it that the 
Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come 
nigh me; and before all the people will I be glorified." 
And how stands the case now ? Why, that many who are 
essential to the completeness of their personal succession 
have been guilty of like sins with that of ISTadab and 
Abihu needs no proof; while their claims of apostolic suc- 
cession, which alone can countenance their use of the 

19* 



222 



THE DUTY OF REVERENCE 



example of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, never has been 
and never can be maintained. 

III. The obligations or reasons for due reverence in 

APPROACHING GOD. 

These are many and striking. This is specially so 
when we approach him in the sacred services of religion. 

1 . The services of religious worship are holy. Sacred- 
ness attaches itself to all parts, to all the principles and 
forms of religion. The Church is holy. Her institutions 
are holy. They are divinely appointed as means and 
modes of approaching God. They derive their sanctity 
from the appointment or sanction of God, and from the pur- 
poses for which they are instituted. There was sacredness 
in the religious services and sacrificial offerings of the pa- 
triarchs. There was sacredness in the tabernacle, and tem- 
ple, and altars; in the washings and purifications, the sac- 
rifices and confessions ; in the penitence, the prayers, and 
praises of the Levitical economy. So there is sacredness 
in the baptism and the supper; in the penitence and 
prayers ; in the communings and praises ; in the Gospel 
ministrations of Christian worship. These all have to do 
with God the Father, who is above all and over all ; with 
Christ Jesus, the Son of God; with his atonement, his suf- 
ferings, and death, and intercessions for us; with the Holy 
Spirit in his offices of awakening and regeneration, of adop- 
tion and sanctification ; with the highest duties and res- 
ponsibilities of life, the solemnities of death and judgment, 
and the great and ultimate, the endless and changeless 
destinies of eternity. Reverence is, therefore, required of 
us while we approach God in the sacred services of religion. 

2. Reverence for God is due from us in approaching 
him because of our own character and condition. 

What are we in the presence of God? A shadow; a 
passing cloud ; like the early dew or mist of the morning, 
that quickly vanishes before the rising sun. "As for man, 



IN APPROACHING GOD. 



223 



his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flour- 
isheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone ; and 
the place thereof shall know it no more;" "Behold, thou 
hast made my days as a handbreadth ; and mine age is 
as nothing before thee. Verily every man at his best 
state is altogether vanity." Such are we; and our hab- 
itation is in the dust of God's footstool. Surely, then, 
reverence becometh us when we come nigh him. 

In our higher nature, in our intellectual and moral en- 
dowments, what littleness, what nothingness we are in 
comparison of God ! We can but scan the mere surface 
of things. The circumference which compasses the range 
of our powers crowds upon its center. "The wisdom of 
this world is foolishness with God;" "All nations before 
him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less 
than nothing and vanity;" "Let all the earth fear the 
Lord ; let all the inhabitants of the earth stand in awe of 
him." 

And surely there is reason for the duty of reverence in 
approaching God in the sad truth of our sinfulness ; and, 
though forgiven and sanctified, the remembrance of our 
past sinfulness will remain ; and while we come before him 
with the recollection of the deep stains that polluted us 
and the aggravated guilt accumulated upon our soul, and 
deeply penetrated with a sense of God's justice, and holi- 
ness, and love, we shall feel that solemnity and awe become 
us in his presence. 

3. The character and majesty of God form the chief 
reason for this reverence. On this subject no merely hu- 
man composition can equal the force and spirit, the grand- 
eur and majesty of the sacred writings. "God is wise 
in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened 
himself against him, and prospered ? which removeth the 
mountains, and they know not : which overturn eth them in 
his anger, and the pillars thereof tremble ; which com- 



224 



THE DUTY OF REVERENCE 



mandeth the sun, and it riseth not ; and sealeth up the 
stars ; which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and tread- 
eth upon the waves of the sea;" "He looketh on the 
earth, and it trembleth : he toucheth the hills and they 
smoke;" " Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath 
no covering. He stretcheth out the north over the empty- 
place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. He bindeth 
up the waters in his thick clouds ; and the cloud is not 
rent under them. He holdeth back the face of his throne, 
and spreadeth his cloud upon it. He hath compassed the 
waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an 
end. The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished 
at his reproof. . . . Lo ! these are parts of his ways ; but 
how little a portion is heard of him ! But the thunder of 
his power who can understand?" "The Lord is high 
above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who 
is like unto the Lord our God who dwelleth on high ? who 
humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven 
and in the earth? Who is like unto thee, Lord, among 
the gods ? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in 
praises, doing wonders?" "Let all the earth fear the 
Lord ; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of 
him;" "Who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a 
man that shall die, and of the son of man who shall be 
made as grass ? and forgettest the Lord thy Maker, that 
hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations 
of the earth?" "Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and 
let him be your fear, and let him be your dread;" " That 
thou mayst fear this glorious and fearful name, the Lord 
thy God;" "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly 
of his saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that 
are about him." 

Such is the character, such the infinite perfections of 
God; such the grandeur of his works and the greatness 
of his majesty and glory. In his presence the nations are 



m APPROACHING GOD. 



225 



as nothing. At his approach the mountains flee away, or 
flame on fire and dissolve ; the waters of the sea part 
asunder; the foundations of the earth tremble and give 
way ; the sun vails his light and hides himself ; the moon 
and the stars, trembling and awe-struck, retreat back into 
the darkness of night. The universe bows in reverence 
before the greatness of his majesty — the universe, those 
excepted who, plunged into the depths and darkness of 
sin, maintain an impious rebellion against him. Saints on 
earth, saints and angels in heaven, all reverence and hal- 
low the name of God. How often, when they come into 
the place of his presence, are his saints constrained, like 
Jacob, to say, "How dreadful is this place!" How often, 
when God comes nigh and manifests himself, do they feel, 
like Moses, that the very ground whereon they stand is 
holy ! And thus, saints and seraphs, angels and archan- 
gels, mingling in the worship of the skies, casting their 
crowns before him, and prostrate in his presence, in pro- 
foucdest adoration, "rest not day nor night, saying, Holy, 
holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is 
to come." Surely, then, a soul-pervading, profound rev- 
erence is our duty in approaching God. " This is it that 
the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that 
come nigh me." 

4. And yet, while we should come before God in the pro- 
foundest reverence and awe, we may come in the fullness of 
filial confidence, and in all the freedom of the children of 
his compassion and love. "Like as a father pitieth his 
children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." The 
condescension of God is equal to the greatness of his 
majesty and glory. " Thus saith the high and lofty One 
that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in 
the high and holy place ; with him also that is of a con- 
trite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble 
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." 



226 THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

Through the atonement and mediation of Christ there 
is provided for us the gracious privilege of free access to 
God as our father. "For through him we both have ac- 
cess by one Spirit unto the Father." Christ is our advo- 
cate with the Father, the propitiation for our sins. He is 
a merciful and faithful high-priest in things pertaining to 
God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. In 
the character of our high-priest he has passed into the 
heavens, thus opening up to us the way of free access to 
the throne of grace. "Having, therefore, brethren, bold- 
ness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a 
new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, 
through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; and having a 
high-priest over the house of God, let us draw nigh with 
a true heart, in full assurance of faith." Thus let us ap- 
proach God in the spirit of profound reverence and con- 
fiding trust. So shall we find nearness and freeness of 
approach, and ever remain and rejoice in the smiles of his 
love. Amen. 



SEEMON XVI. 

BY REV. WILLIAM H. SUTHERLAND. 

THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was 
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty 
might be rich," 2 Corinthians vm, 9. 

The principles of imitation and emulation are often effi- 
cient incentives to deeds of charity. The apostle, aware 
of the influence of these principles, appealed to them in 
this epistle. Before and at the date of the text, the poor 
saints in Judea were the subjects of bitter persecution. 



THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 227 

As it was vain for them to expect relief from the authors 
of their wrongs, they naturally turned an imploring look 
to those whose hearts God had touched. And, my breth- 
ren, when God touches the heart with the finger of his 
love, it overflows with charity toward all mankind. Hence, 
they implored not in vain. The Macedonians, even be- 
yond their ability, joyfully contributed to the relief of 
their suffering brethren. For this object the apostle had 
written also to the Corinthians ; but from some cause, not 
mentioned, the contribution had not been completed. To 
urge its completion was one of the objects of this second 
epistle, in the eighth chapter of which he endeavors to 
incite them to emulate the noble deeds of the Macedo- 
nians, delicately intimating, that if they, who were poor, 
had given so freely, the Corinthians, who were opulent, 
ought to equal or surpass their poorer brethren in liberal- 
ity. But he rises. Having given an instance of human 
charity, he presents an example of benevolence, of grace, 
the most illustrious the universe has seen — the grace of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. "For ye know," says he, "the 
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, 
yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his 
poverty might be rich." 

The subject of this text is, obviously, "The grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. 99 The word grace, in the Bible, has 
various meanings. They all, however, are comprehended 
in two words, excellence and favor — excellence, whether 
physical, mental, or moral, and favor, conferred or re- 
ceived. It has both these senses in the text, in the eluci- 
dation of which I shall consider the grace of our "Lord 
Jesus Christ as exhibited in 

I. HlS ORIGINAL RICHES. 

II. His subsequent poverty. 

III. His benevolent design. 

I. I am to consider the grace — the excellence of our 



228 THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

Lord Jesus Christ as exhibited in his original riches. 
" He was rich " in 

1. His nature. That nature was divine. This is de- 
clared in the first title given him in the text. He is called 
"Lord." The Greek word Kvptos, here translated Lord, 
is the same by which the Seventy generally render the 
Hebrew word Jehovah, which is the incommunicable 
name of the ever-blessed God — a name expressive of his 
infinity, immutability, eternity — one which the Jews, 
through reverence, refuse to pronounce, and always use a 
circumlocution to express. Christ is, in the Scriptures, 
also called God. That disciple who was admitted to a 
peculiarly intimate communion with the Savior, who 
leaned on his bosom at the last supper, and whom, it is 
emphatically said, Jesus loved, in the first verse of his 
Gospel says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the 
Word was with God, and the Word was God." And the 
chief of the apostles testifies that Christ "is over all, God 
blessed forever," Romans ix, 5. As God, he possesses 
divine attributes. To him belong a wisdom omniscient, a 
power almighty, a presence universal, a holiness immacu- 
late, a justice without respect of persons, a goodness over- 
shadowing all, a mercy reaching even the rebellious, and 
a truth firmer than the foundations of "the everlasting 
hills." But divine actions, as well as divine titles and at- 
tributes, are ascribed to him in the Scriptures ; hence, 
"he was rich" in 

2. His works. The beloved apostle informs us that 
"all things were made by him, and without him was not 
any thing made that was made." Paul declares that "by 
him were all things created that are in heaven, and that 
are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, 
or dominions, or principalities, or powers — all things were 
made by him, and for him, and he is before all things, and 
by him all things consist," Colossians i, 16, 17. Here, in 



THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 229 

the number, order, variety, beauty, magnitude, utility, 
.and perfection of his works, we behold the riches of 
Christ. 

His wisdom is manifest in the tiny flower of the field, 
and in the giant oak of the mountain ; in the vicissitudes 
of day and night, and in the constant roll of the seasons ; 
in the conformation of the earth, and in its vast mineral 
treasures. The myriad creatures that move on its surface, 
or fly in the open firmament, or plow the deep, from the 
animalcule to leviathan, all display the wisdom of Christ. 
We ourselves are "strangely, wonderfully formed." And 
if we elevate our view, and behold the sun shining in his 
strength, and the moon walking in brightness, attended 
by all heaven's glittering host, we shall, perhaps, exclaim 
with the Psalmist, "The heavens declare the glory of 
God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day 
unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth 
knowledge "0 Lord, how manifold are thy works! in 
wisdom hast thou made them all ; the whole earth is full 
of thy riches" 

Nor less illustrious is his goodness. It breathes in the 
balmy morning, and distills in the evening dew. It smiles 
in the verdure and beauty of spring, and flows brightly 
on in the rippling waters. It sings in the simple and 
touching melody of nature's own warblers, and rejoices in 
the shouts of the harvest. It 

" Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, 
Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees ; 
Lives through all life, extends through all extent, 
Spreads undivided, operates unspent." 

Equally conspicuous is his power. It is he who, in the 
elevated language of inspiration, "stretcheth the north 
over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon noth- 
ing;" "Who weighed the mountains in scales, and the 
hills in a balance ; who taketh up the isles as a very little 

20 



230 THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

thing; and Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the 
beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. All nations 
before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him 
less than nothing; and vanity. " "Lo, these are parts of 
his ways!" and yet m even these, the depth of his wis- 
dom, the exuberance of his goodness, and "the thunder 
of his power, who can understand?" But Christ was 
rich in 

3. Bis possessions. As " all things were made by him," 
so all things were made "for him." To him belongs a 
wealth greater than that of the Indies or Peru. His are 
the useful, the beautiful, the sublime of nature. His the 
gushing fountain, the majestic river, the placid lake, the 
boundless ocean, with all the treasures of the depth. He 
knows all the fowls of the mountain, and "the cattle upon 
a thousand hills are the Lord's;" yea, "the earth is the 
Lord's, and the fullness thereof." And worlds on worlds, 
and systems on systems immense, whose elemental fires, 
though lighted at nature's birth, have scarce yet reached 
our little sphere, are all, with all their glories, their treas- 
ures, and their inhabitants, the possessions of Him who 
was rich, but for your sakes, my brethren, became poor. 
Christ "was rich" in 

4. His government. He is "head over all things;" "by 
him all things consist;" "he upholdeth all things," not 
by the arm nor hand, but "by the word of his power/' 
He reigns in the kingdom of nature. It is he who "caus- 
eth the day-spring to know his place," and at his bidding 
the sun hastens to his going down. He "bindeth the 
sweet influences of the Pleiades he looseth the bands of 
Orion, and guideth Arcturus with his sons." He "lifteth 
up his voice to the clouds, and abundance of waters cov- 
ers the earth ;" "fire, and hail, and stormy wind fulfill his 
word." He "maketh the clouds his chariot, and darkness 
his pavilion, and walketh upon the wings of the wind;" 



THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 231 

yea, the fearful bolts of heaven go forth at his command, 
arid return crouching at his feet, saying, "Here are we." 

He rules in the empire of mind. "He doeth according 
to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabit- 
ants of the earth." This he does, not compelling the vo- 
litions, but rather controlling the events to which those 
volitions lead. And this is accordant wdth Scripture, 
which declares that though "the Lord directeth a man's 
steps, yet his own heart deviseth his way." Brethren, I 
rejoice that Christ reigns. Men of talent, and learning, 
and wealth, and power, may combine to oppose the 
Church; "the kings of the earth may set themselves, and 
the rulers take counsel against the Lord and against his 
anointed ; yet he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, 
the Lord shall have them in derision." He who saith to 
the roaring ocean, when, in the plenitude of its power, it 
rolls, and foams, and dashes upon the shore, "Hitherto 
shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud 
waves be staid," can make the "wrath of man to praise 
him, and the remainder of wrath restrain." Christ "was 
rich" in 

5. The worship paid him. "Let all the angels of God 
worship him," is the command of the Father. The fiat 
has gone forth, "that at the name of Jesus every knee 
should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and 
things under the earth ; and that every tongue should 
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the 
Father." Accordingly, from primeval ages, the wisest 
and best have worshiped Christ as God. In him the faith 
of Abel, the first martyr, centered. It was he whose day 
Abraham rejoiced to see, and for whose worship he erected 
an altar wherever he had a tent. It was he whose very 
reproach Moses esteemed greater riches than the treasures 
in Egypt. It was on his atoning merit the devout Jew 
relied, when he brought his victim to the altar. It was 



232 THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

lie whose praises and passion were sung in the sublime 
strain of Isaiah, and in the touching melody of David's 
harp. It was he who was worshiped in heaven by angels 
and "the spirits of just men made perfect," saying, 
* ' Thou art worthy to receive power, and riches, and wis- 
dom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing;" 
and cherubim and seraphim bowed before him, and vailed 
their faces with their wings, as if unworthy to look on his 
uncreated majesty and glory, crying, "Holy, holy, holy, 
is the Lord of hosts !" Such, my brethren, are the riches, 
the excellence, "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ;" 
such they were before he became poor. 

We come now to contemplate a very different part of 
the same picture, but one which, not less than the former, 
exhibits the grace, the excellence of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, namely : 

II. His subsequent poverty. 

This is declared in the text: "For your sakes he became 
poor;" and it is intimated, also, in the second title therein 
given our Lord. He is called "Jesus," which signifies a 
Savior ; and to be a Savior he must become poor. This 
he did, not in ceasing to be God, but in becoming man, in 
enshrining the divinity in humanity ; that as the human 
nature had sinned, so might the human nature suffer ; but 
as mere human sufferings were valueless, the indwelling 
and sustaining divinity might give infinite value to the 
sacrifice. But under what circumstances did he assume 
humanity? Did he come as an emperor, or an emperor's 
son? Was his birth heralded by the shouts of a nation's 
joy ? Did an imperial palace or an imperial city receive 
him? Nay, my brethren. He came as the reputed son of 
the obscure Joseph. He was born, not in royal Jerusa- 
lem, but in "Bethlehem Ephratah, the least of the thou- 
sands of Judah." A stable was his first dwelling, and a 
manger his cradle. To bear great reverses unshaken, has 



THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 233 

always been esteemed a mark of commanding excellence. 
But the universe presents no reverses comparable to 
those which Christ so meekly bore. Here we behold the 
I Am, an infant of days ; the omnipotent, a powerless 
child; the adored of angels, a companion of beasts of the 
stall ! In early life we find him without education, toiling 
many years at the laborious trade of a carpenter; and 
even after he enters fully upon his momentous mission, 
his temporal circumstances do not improve. His wants 
are supplied by the charity of a few women whom he had 
healed of their diseases. He hungers at the fig-tree, 
thirsts at Sychar, and begs drink of a woman, a stranger 
to him and an enemy to his nation. Hear his own ac- 
count of his possessions : " The foxes have holes, and the 
birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of man [the 
Lord of both] hath not where to lay his head." Thus, 
my brethren, did Christ literally become poorer than the 
poorest of his creatures, that we " through his poverty 
might be rich." But he was despoiled of reputation, 
which the noble prize dearer than life. Although he was 
the Lamb of God, whom none could convict of iniquity — 
in whose mouth was no guile, and in whose heart was no 
sin — yet they aspersed him as a glutton, a wine-bibber, 
and a companion of sinners. They even asserted that 
those miracles of mercy, which he wrought by the Spirit 
of God, were performed through Satanic aid. "He caste th 
out devils," said they, "through Beelzebub, the prince of 
the devils ;" "He came unto his own, and his own received 
him not;" "He was despised and rejected of men, & man 
of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and they hid, as it 
were, their faces from him ; he was despised, and they 
esteemed him not." 

But let us view the closing scene. Go we to Gethsem- 
ane, and who is that pale, meek one, prostrate on the 
cold, hard earth? What mean those gory drops that fall 

20* 



234 THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

so thick and fast from his marred visage? And what 
that thrice-repeated, plaintive cry, "0, my Father! if it 
be possible, let this cup pass from me ; nevertheless, not 
as I will, but as thou wilt?" Sinners, he suffers, and yet 
prays for you and me. Behold him before the Sanhedrim 
and at Pilate's bar, falsely accused, unjustly condemned, 
spit upon, buffeted, scourged, and crowned with thorns ! 
"He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, yet he openeth not 
his mouth." See him toiling up the steep of Calvary, 
fainting beneath the weight of his own cross ! He is 
bound to the accursed tree. The rough iron transfixes 
the quivering flesh. The poisonous thorns press down 
their points into his sacred temples. He is elevated be- 
tween heaven and earth, in most ignoble company. He 
hangs on his wounds. His precious blood distills. See, 
from his head, his hands, his feet, "sorrow and love flow 
mingled down," one crimson tide! In this piteous condi- 
tion he is derided by the Jews, deserted by his own dis- 
ciples, and forsaken and afflicted by God ! This last was 
the bitterest dreg in the cup of the Savior's anguish. 
Even the martyr, slowly consuming at the stake, has been 
sustained in the inner man by the grace of God, and 
shouted victory in the fire; but Jesus, the martyr's Lord 
and supporter, in the extremity of his own torture, was 
bereft of the cheering presence of the Divinity, and 
writhed beneath his Father's frowns. Yes, "he bruised 
him," "he put him to grief," "he made his soul an offer- 
ing for sin," and poured upon it, without mixture, the 
fierceness of the wrath of an almighty God ! Else what 
means that plaintful cry, "My God, my God! why hast 
thou forsaken me?" 0, Lamb of God! were ever pov- 
erty, and ignominy, and agony like thine ? Well may the 
earth quake, the sun hide his face, and the heavens be 
shrouded in mourning — the God of nature and of glory 
dies ! And well may our minds be lost in astonishment, 



THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 235 

and our hearts be overpowered with emotion at the excel- 
lence, the condescension, the love, the unutterable " grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

But let us further consider the grace, the excellence, 
and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ, as exhibited in 

III. HlS BENEVOLENT DESIGN. 

That design was, "that ye through his poverty might 
be rich." It is shadowed forth in the third title given in 
the text to our Redeemer. He is called " Christ," that is, 
the anointed one ; a name or phrase expressive of his re- 
gal, sacerdotal, and prophetic offices, by virtue of which 
he confers "gifts on men." 

It is through his mediation that we have a second trial. 
Man having failed in his first trial, God was not obliged to 
grant him a second. He might justly have cut off the 
race in Adam, and consigned man to irremediable woe. 
But Christ, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the 
world," interposed, and through his prospective poverty, 
found out a ransom — procured the possibility of the sal- 
vation of all mankind from sin, and from many of its tem- 
poral, and all its eternal, consequences, and an exaltation 
to an infinitely better Eden than Adam lost. It is through 
Christ that we have the written word ; a light shining in 
a dark place, revealing our origin, nature, duty, and des- 
tiny, "bringing life and immortality to light." It is to 
Jesus we are indebted for a living ministry. Men who 
have themselves "tasted of the good word of God, and 
the powers of the world to come," are inspired with love, 
and zeal, and wisdom, and eloquence, and sent forth to 
declare to poor perishing sinners "the unsearchable riches 
of Christ," "beseeching them in his stead, to be recon- 
ciled to God." It is Jesus who sends the Holy Spirit to 
illumine our minds, to soften our hearts, to "reprove us of 
sin, of righteousness, and of judgment," and to grant us 
"repentance unto life," and saving faith in Christ. By 



236 THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

his obedience unto death he procured a full pardon for our 
rebellions. He became the son of man, that we might 
become the sons of God, and have the Spirit of God with- 
in our hearts, "crying, Abba, Father." He submitted to 
the punishment of our sins, that we might be saved from 
their tyranny, pollution, and dreadful penalties, and be 
filled with a pure and ever-enduring peace, an immortal 
hope, and "a joy unspeakable and full of glory. " He 
became poor, that we might gain the imperishable riches 
of faith, and "find grace to help" in every step of our 
pilgrimage through this vale of tears. He died and rose 
again, | that we might triumph over death, and our once 
weak, vile, dishonored bodies be raised in power, incor- 
ruption, and glory. He left the New Jerusalem, that we 
might enter its pearly gates, walk its golden streets, and 
look with undimmed eye on all its ineffable glories. He 
descended from his throne, that we worms might sit on 
thrones. He laid aside his glorious crown, that we rebels 
might wear "a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 
He drank the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung 
them out, that we might quaff from that stream "which 
makes glad the city of God." He relinquished the wor- 
ship of the angelic host, and the spirits of just men made 
perfect, that we might share their society, their praises, 
and their happiness forever. Yes, the riches which Christ 
procures for us, unlike the riches of earth, shall endure 
and satisfy forever. To-day, my brethren, "on faith's 
strong, eagle pinions let us rise, and scale the mount oi 
God." Let us enter the inner sanctuary, and mingle with 
its holy society. Let us look on the unclouded glories of 
the Lamb. Let our hearts thrill with his love, and our 
lips tremble with his praise. In these delightful employ- 
ments let an age of one million of years circle away ; let 
a million of such ages pass ; multiply the vast aggregate 
by every atom in the universe; and when the last sand 



THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 237 

has run out, there is still before us an eternity of improv- 
. ing bliss, infinitely greater than that we have enjoyed. 
Such, my brethren, is but a glance at the riches procured 
for us by the poverty of our Lord. Mortals can neither 
describe nor conceive them perfectly. Even the experi- 
ence and eloquence of that angel longest in heaven, would 
fall infinitely beneath that "far more exceeding and. eter- 
nal weight of glory." And shall we not adore the grace 
that could merit and procure these inestimable riches? 
Shall not our minds be filled with wonder, and our hearts 
with gratitude, at the excellence, the condescension, and 
love of Him u who, being in the form of God, thought it 
not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no 
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and 
was made in the likeness of man : being found and in 
fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedi- 
ent unto death, even the death of the cross?" That was 
disinterested love. I know it is doubted whether there is 
such a thing on earth. It has even been said, when the 
fond mother pardons, and receives to her embraces her 
long-lost, prodigal boy, that hers is not disinterested 
affection. I will not discuss so delicate a point; but 
I will aver that the love of Christ to us, was disinter- 
ested love. He who dwelt in the bosom of the Father 
before the worlds were; who was "the brightness of his 
glory, and the express image of his person," could not 
become richer, wiser, holier, happier, by becoming poor; 
and there was nothing in us to merit this love. We were 
neither rich, nor wise, nor pure, nor lovely, nor loyal, but 
were ingrate rebels; and yet he loved us, and "for our 
sakes became poor." "Look down, ye heavens, and 
be astonished, earth, at the matchless grace of the Son 
of God!" "Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; 
yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare 
to die ; but Christ commendeth his love toward us, in that 



238 THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

while we were yet sinners, he died for us." "0, for this 
love let rocks and hills their lasting silence break," and all 
human tongues, whether "harmonious" or inharmonious, 
"the Savior's praises speak!" 

And shall love so pure, so intense, so divine, appeal to 
our hearts in vain? Shall we love the man who but risks 
his life for ours, and not love our glorious Savior, who 
actually died to deliver us from eternal death? Shall we 
love the man who gives us earthly, perishable riches, and 
not love our divine Redeemer, who freely resigned the 
treasures of the universe to purchase for us a heavenly in- 
heritance, "incorruptible, undenled, and that fadeth not 
away?" Can we contemplate the poverty, and ignominy, 
and agony which he for us endured, and not crucify the 
sins which crucified our Lord? 0, can we look on him 
whom we have pierced, and while his dying groans rend 
the adamantine heart of earth, and dim the eye of heaven, 
can our hearts remain unfeeling, and our tears refuse to 
flow, and we return to forget his sorrows, to crucify him 
afresh, and put him to an open shame ? Let us remember 
that Christ's merits procure, indeed, the possibility, but 
not the necessity of our salvation. He became poor, not 
that we inevitably must or shall, but only that we "might 
be rich." After all that Christ has done for us, we may 
undo ourselves. God will let the obstinate sinner be 
damned. If we reject, or even neglect that great salva- 
tion so affectionately offered us by him who died to pur- 
chase it, we renounce our only hope; "for there is none 
other name under heaven given among men whereby we 
must be saved;" and we must sink beneath the awful 
curses of the law we have violated, and feel, in addition, 
how bitter a thing it is to "trample under foot the Son of 
God, and count his blood an unholy thing." 

But while the salvation of none is made necessary, I 
rejoice that the salvation of all is made possible through 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



239 



the poverty of our Lord. The most distant wanderer with 
whom the Spirit strives, may yet return. " Though your 
sins be as scarlet they may be as white as snow ; though 
they be red like crimson they may be as wool." Come, 
then, ye sinners, " wretched, and miserable, and poor, and 
blind, and naked none but Jesus can relieve and enrich 
you. Ye who vainly toil for the unsatisfying, fleeting' 
riches of earth, here you may certainty have heavenly, 
satisfying, and enduring treasures at small cost, even by 
"repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus 
Christ." And ye that are athirst for happiness, who pant 
and pine for living streams, know ye not that "a fountain 
has been opened in the house of David ?" It runs divinely 
clear and full — enough for all, enough for evermore. 
Come to these living, satisfying, purifying waters. "And 
he that hath no money, come/' buy Christ's grace and 
heaven's riches, "without money and without price;" 
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come;" and let him 
that heareth the glad sound, that " knoweth the grace," 
echo it to those that are afar off; let him "say, Come. 
And whosoever will, let him take the water of life [the 
riches of Christ] freely." 



SEBMON XVII. 

BY REV. WILLIAM I. ELLSWORTH. 

THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 

"Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, 
we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not 
walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by 
manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's con- 
science in the sight of God," 2 Corinthians rv, 1, 2. 

The world has always acknowledged and professed a 
religion of some kind, and has always had its religious 



240 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



teachers, both in the Church and in its schools of phi- 
losophy. In the patriarchal age, and before the organ- 
ization of the Church proper, every father and head 
of a family was priest and religious instructor to the 
domestic household, and also presided over its religious 
devotions. During the Mosaic economy, prophets and 
priests were the appointed teachers of religion, and minis- 
ters of its sacred rites. But under the Gospel dispensa- 
tion and in the Christian Church, " God gave some apostles 
and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors 
and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work 
of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.' ' 

It is generally conceded that there were two classes of 
ministers in the Christian Church : the one extraordi- 
nary, and made up of apostles, prophets, and evangelists ; 
the other ordinary, and consisting of pastors and teachers. 
It is also allowed that the office creating the extraordinary 
class of ministers, namely, apostles, prophets, and evan- 
gelists, has been done away, and that, consequently, they 
have no successors proper. But the office pertaining to 
the ordinary ministry, including pastors and teachers, is 
still continued in the Church, and that these are the only 
successors of the apostles, and stated ministers of the 
Church, who were to remain with the Church, to be her 
spiritual guides and teachers to the end of time. 

In the further amplification of this subject we propose 
to show, 

I. That God has given to the Church a divinely- 
instituted MINISTRY. 

1 . The Christian minister is divinely called to his work. 
The office of the Christian ministry is at once the most 
elevated and important trust to which men are called in 
this life. The Gospel minister is no less a personage than 
an embassador of Christ — a spiritual plenipotentiary, sent 
out to treat with sinners, to proclaim God's terms of rec- 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



241 



onciliation to them, and to beseech them, in his name, to 
■accept his proffered mercy; a work that might 

"Fill an angel's heart, 
And filled a Savior's hands." 

St. Paul says, "No man taketh this honor to himself, but 
he that is called of God, as was Aaron." When Christ 
would institute the Christian Church, he first called and 
commissioned the twelve apostles for the work of the min- 
istry, and endued them with special gifts, and invested 
them with plenary authority to teach and disciple the na- 
tions, and to build up his kingdom in all the earth. Sub- 
sequently he ordained seventy others as ministers of his 
Gospel, and sent them out into all the cities and places 
whither he himself would come. And later still, he called 
and commissioned the apostle Paul to be a special minis- 
ter to the Gentiles, and then gave him Timothy, and 
Titus, and others, to be sons in the Gospel. These, again, 
have been succeeded by others in the work of the min- 
istry till now, and their successors will, doubtless, con- 
tinue to the end of time — till the Jews shall be brought 
in with the fullness of the Gentiles, and the top-stone of 
the Church shall be laid upon it with the shouting of 
" Grace, grace unto it!" There is, however, considerable 
diversity of opinion in the Christian Church in regard to 
a call to the ministry. Some look upon it as a mere pro- 
fession, that may be taken up or laid down at pleasure. 
Others, again, consider it a sacred and holy calling, to 
which they may be directed simply by the providence of 
God, and upon which a man may enter as the most prom- 
ising field of usefulness that presents itself in this life. 
Again, other branches of the Church — and among them 
is the Methodist Episcopal Church — hold a Divine call to 
the ministry in a yet higher sense than the views named. 
We hold that, in addition to the indications of Provi- 
dence, which seem to direct to the ministry, men are 

21 



242 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to preach the Gospel, 
and, accompanying these impressions of the Spirit, is a 
peculiar love to and ardent desire for the salvation of 
souls. Some go further still, and profess to hear super- 
natural voices, and to be called in dreams and visions of 
the night. We once heard a very good brother relate his 
call to the ministry after this manner. He said, after 
laboring a long time in a state of painful anxiety and 
doubt as to his call to the ministry, having retired late 
one night, after much prayer and meditation in relation to 
what was his duty, he fell into a sleep, when he had a very 
remarkable dream, the purport of which was, that he saw 
the Savior, who bade him go and preach his Gospel, and 
doubt no more. The vision awoke him, when, as he 
affirmed, his room was as light as though a candle had 
been burning in it. We know not how far the great Head 
of the Church may condescend to human weakness ; but 
God's ordinary method should chiefly be relied on in de- 
termining the question of a call to the ministry. Further- 
more, the minister thus called of God must1)e authorized 
and sent by the Church. The Church may not call a 
man to the work of the ministry ; but it is her prerogative 
and duty formally to set him apart by ecclesiastical au- 
thority to preach the Gospel, and administer the sacra- 
ments, and take the pastoral oversight of the flock. 

2. The Christian minister is divinely qualified for his 
work. The character and importance of the work itself 
would seem to require this — the work of saving souls. 
Certainly no merely human qualifications could fit men for 
so important, so momentous a work. This is eminently 
the work of the Spirit. It is his to convert, to sanctify, to 
set apart and endue with gifts and graces the minister of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. We would not disparage learning 
for a moment, but rather claim it as an important auxil- 
iary; nor would we discourage the acquisition of exten- 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



243 



sive and varied literary and scientific attainments where 
■ circumstances will permit it ; but we would not, as some 
do, make it a sine qua non — an indispensable passport to 
the Christian ministry. On the other hand, we maintain 
that no man is prepared for the Christian ministry who is 
not divinely called and qualified. God has reserved to 
himself the right, in all ages, to choose and qualify his 
own ministers. We are not, however, to take it for 
granted, that a man will be qualified and made an able 
minister of the New Testament without personal applica- 
tion, without much study. He who said that he was 
taught the Gospel by the revelation of Jesus Christ, also 
said to Timothy, his son in the Gospel, " Study to show 
thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not 
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." The 
Christian minister should not merely study to acquit him- 
self well in the estimation of his fellow-men, but should 
endeavor so to study and to preach as to be approved of 
God, whose servant he is and whose work he is to per- 
form. No minister, whether called from the ranks of the 
learned or from the less educated classes of society, 
should conclude his studies at an end when he enters the 
ministry, but rather just commenced. He should look upon 
the fields of science and theology as spread out before him 
for exploration and occupancy, and apply himself to the 
acquisition of all the knowledge he can attain to fit him 
for the work of saving souls and building up the Church 
of God. The Bible should be his principal text-book, 
and should be carefully read and studied, that he may 
bring from its rich stores the precious truths of life, and 
from its crystal fountains the waters of salvation, with 
which to irrigate and fertilize the heritage of the Lord. 
If there ever was a time when ministers of the Gospel 
should stand up in defense of the plain, the pure and 
unsophisticated doctrines of the Christian religion, it is 



244 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



now. Infidelity is not dead ; it is alive and active, but 
masked. It is no less hostile to the pure doctrines of the 
Gospel now than heretofore, but has simply changed its f 
mode of attack. It now waives a direct warfare, and 
resorts to strategy. It even subscribes to the Christian 
Scriptures, but puts an entirely new gloss upon them, and 
by philosophizing would make them teach another relig- 
ion — a religion unknown to the apostles, the fathers, and 
Church of Christ. Every minister of the Gospel, there- 
fore, should be prepared to detect and expose the sophisms 
and poisoned potations of these masked enemies of our 
common faith, and maintain uncorrupted the pure word of 
God. 

3. The Gospel minister is divinely sustained in his work. 
"Having received mercy," says the apostle, "we faint 
not." Christ never claimed that the office of the Chris- 
tian ministry was a sinecure, or that his ministers would 
not be called to toil and to suffer, but the reverse. No 
class of men have been called to endure so much as the 
ministers of religion. They have often periled every 
earthly interest, and even life itself, for the truth, and have 
stood up in defense of religion when its enemies would 
have trampled it in the dust, or shouted its overthrow, and 
swept it from the earth as with the besom of destruction. 
But in the midst and above the noise of the winds and 
waves of persecution, has been distinctly heard, by the 
ministers of the cross, the voice of Jesus, "My grace is 
sufficient for you," and, "Lo! I am with you always, 
even to the end of the world." With these cheering 
promises before St. Paul and his co-laborers, we do not 
wonder that he should exclaim, in the midst of all his 
sufferings, " None of these things move me, neither count 
I my life dear unto myself, so that I mignt finish my 
course with joy, and the ministry which I have received 
of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



245 



God." And similar is the language of every true minis- 
ter of Christ. The promised presence of the Savior and 
the supports of his grace will cheer and sustain the hearts 
of his servants to the end of time. 

The planting of Christianity was the time to try men's 
souls. The apostles and first ministers of the Gospel lit- 
erally forsook all to follow Christ, and, with their lives in 
their hands, went forth to preach, and convert the world. 
They had to encounter the stern ar*l deeply-rooted preju- 
dices of the Jews on the one hand and the errors and 
superstitions of the Pagans on the other. Long and fear- 
ful was the conflict between the power of truth and error, 
of light and darkness ; and, as the spiritual warfare went 
on, the hand of persecution was uplifted to chastise and 
destroy. The arm of the civil power, too, was invoked, 
and dungeon, lash, faggot, beasts of prey, and rack were 
employed, as instruments of torture and death, to cut 
down the heralds of the cross, and stay the onward prog- 
ress of the Christian religion. But the Lord was present 
to sustain and uphold his ministers. True, they suffered 
much during the ten successive persecutions, and not a 
few of them sealed the truth with their own blood ; but 
even these became the seed of the Church. When Paul 
was sentenced by the cruel Nero to die, he did not shrink 
from his fate, but wrote from his prison to Timothy, his 
son in the Gospel, informing him of the fact, and assuring 
him that he was fully prepared for the solemn event. 
How triumphant his language on the occasion: " I am 
now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is 
at hand. I have fought a good fight ; I have finished my 
course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid 
up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
righteous Judge, shall give me at that day." In every 
period of the Church's history God has made good his 
promise to be with his ministers to the end of the world. 

21* 



246 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



Witness the protection of Luther and his co-laborers, of 
Wesley and his co-laborers, and of all true ministers in 
every age. Were not the ministers of Christ divinely sus- 
tained they must long since have abandoned the conver- 
sion of the world as a hopeless task, and have fainted in 
their work ; but divine grace is still vouchsafed his faithful 
servants. 

II. This text teaches us that the ministers of Christ 

ARE SINCERE AND FAITHFUL. 

These are important elements of ministerial character. 
How necessary that Gospel ministers occupy a high and 
commanding position in piety and Christian fidelity ! 
They are not only the spiritual teachers, but pastors and 
guides of the flock of Christ. Should they be insincere 
or unfaithful, the souls of the people must be endangered, 
and the cause suffer. But the true ministers of Christ are 
trustworthy. 

jh "They have renounced the hidden things of dishon- 
esty" " The things of dishonesty," says Matthew Henry, 
"are hidden things that will not bear the light, and of 
which men are ashamed." The apostle Paul claimed, in 
behalf of himself and his ministerial brethren, that they 
had renounced these — that they walked not in them. The 
term honesty, in its common acceptation, means fair deal- 
ing ; but we are to understand it, in this connection, in a 
wider sense. The apostle and his co-laborers not only ob- 
served the strictest principles of fairness in their business 
intercourse with society, but they carefully shunned those 
hidden or secret evil practices in which the false teachers 
and wicked men indulged, but who endeavored to make a 
show of innocence and external purity before the world. 
Every minister of Christ should make it a matter of con- 
science to be pure in all the privacies of life, and to be 
open and fair in all his dealings and intercourse with the 
world and with his brethren. There is in this a principle 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



247 



indispensable to virtue and morality — a principle which 
should ever distinguish the Christian minister. We must 
not permit ourselves, as Christians or Christian ministers, 
to do that which we would condemn in others. Nay, 
more : we should be patterns of the strictest virtue and 
holiness ; we should keep at such a distance from breaking 
the law, that we may not, as some of the Jewish rabbins 
say, "even touch the hedge that guards it;" we should 
abstain not only from evil, but from the very appearance of 
it, and, in the language of another, " sometimes even deny 
ourselves that liberty which conscience, perhaps, allows, 
if the indulgence would offend a weak brother and obstruct 
our usefulness ; we must exceed the highest measure of 
holiness which we propose to our people, or which we wish 
them to possess ; for whatever we are, they will think they 
may safely fall short of it by many degrees, so exalted are the 
notions which are generally formed of ministerial sanctity." 
And may I not add, that, as Methodist ministers and sons 
of Wesley, we should wholly consecrate ourselves to God, 
and seek to attain the highest state of Christian experi- 
ence, and to enjoy the richest measure of divine grace. 
Our creed embraces it, and our Discipline enjoins it, as 
well as the word of God. 

2. " They walked not in craftiness.'* The term craftiness 
means acting with cunning and art. Dr. A. Clarke thinks 
the apostle intended this rebuke for the false teachers, who, 
he says, were accomplished fellows, and capable of any 
thing. It would have been fortunate for the Church and 
for religion if there had been no ministers of cunning and 
craft since the days of the apostles — men who have not 
hesitated to resort to every species of artifice to accom- 
plish selfish or party ends. Witness the conduct of many 
of the Catholic clergy, especially the Jesuits. 

Protestant ministers, too, have sometimes stooped from 
the dignity of their station to the practice condemned by 



248 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



the apostle. A low system of proselytism has been re- 
sorted to, and attempts made to build up one denomination 
at the expense of another equally pious, and often more 
so. So did not the apostles; and such is not the proper 
work of a Christian minister ; his mission is to the world, 
to sinners. These are to be faithfully plied with the 
truths of the Gospel; their sinfulness, their guilt, and 
their danger pressed upon the conscience on the one hand, 
and the promises of pardon, of sanctification, and the 
hopes of the Gospel on the other hand ; and, by all fair and 
honorable means, endeavor to win souls to Christ, even 
plucking them as brands from the burning. Furthermore : 
a resort to cunning, or craft, or worldly policy, to prose- 
lyte men to the Christian faith, or to bring them within the 
pale of any branch of the Christian Church, is of doubt- 
ful expediency, if not positively sinful, and will not be 
indulged by any minister who fully understands the nature 
and responsibilities of his calling. 

3. " They handled not the word of God deceitfully " 
They used great plainness of speech, and did not make 
their ministry serve a turn or truckle to base designs. 
They did not teach the people falsehood for truth, nor 
preach to them what they themselves did not believe. 
Some think the apostle alludes to the deceit used by 
treacherous gamesters, or that of hucksters in the market, 
who mixed bad wares with good. The apostles did not 
imitate these persons ; they attempted no deception ; but 
preached the truth, the whole truth, fearlessly and faith- 
fully. 

There are many ways in which the word of God may 
be handled deceitfully: 1. This is done when writings 
are proclaimed as the word of God that have not the stamp 
of Divine authority, such as the apocryphal books of the 
Old Testament, which are claimed by the Romish Church 
as part and parcel of the revealed will of God. 2. This is 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



249 



done when human traditions or opinions of the fathers 
are mixed up with the word of God, and palmed off as 
revealed truth, or of paramount authority with the word 
of God. 3. This is done when the word of God is 
wrested from its plain and obvious meaning to sustain 
favorite theories or serve selfish purposes or party ends. 
4. This is done when a part of the truth, or that which is 
believed to be truth, is concealed or kept in the back- 
ground because unpopular. No minister may assume the 
province, in his instructions to the people, to withhold any 
part of the revealed will or purpose of God to men, and 
especially that portion of it which relates to their personal 
salvation. 5. This is done when the truth of God is mod- 
ified and tempered to suit the tastes and wishes of the 
fastidious. There is a strong temptation at the present 
day to induce ministers of the Gospel to preach to please 
their auditors, especially where the minister is gifted with 
popular talents, a fine voice, and winning manner. Many 
have itching ears, and can only be satisfied with something 
novel or something very fine ; and such, too, are ever 
ready to praise the preacher and applaud the sermon that 
happens to please their fancy. Few ministers are imper- 
vious to human praise. The strains of adulation fall so 
softly and so sweetly upon the ear, that even the best- 
intentioned are not insensible to their influence. But let 
the minister of the Gospel be careful how he preaches and 
what he preaches. He preaches not himself, nor for him- 
self, but for his God and souls. Let him see to it that 
guilt be not upon his conscience, nor the blood of souls on 
his skirts at the great day of reckoning. 

4. And finally, the apostles preached so as to commend 
themselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 
That was a faithful ministry. They did not stop to in- 
quire whether the truths they preached would please the 
fancy or suit the tastes of their hearers ; but would they 



250 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



reach the conscience? would they leave the impressioD 
indelibly fixed upon the mind, these are the truths of God, 
and these are the true ministers of Christ? So should 
every minister preach. 

*' Shall I, to soothe th' unholy throng, 
Soften thy truth, or smooth my tongue, 
To gain earth's gilded toys, or flee 
The cross endured, my Lord, by thee? 

What, then, is he whose scorn I dread? 
Whose wrath or hate makes me afraid? 
A man ! an heir of death ! a slave 
To sin I a bubble on the wave !" 

All sensible men, whether religious or not, will approve 
the minister who preaches the truth fearlessly, faithfully, 
and earnestly. Candid men always expect fidelity in the 
pulpit, and a zeal suited to the importance of the cause. 

It is said of Governor Morris, one of the early govern- 
ors of the state of Pennsylvania, that having heard a 
sermon from a minister who was an applicant for a chap- 
laincy, he was afterward in a private company where the 
sermon was much eulogized, and being asked for his opinion 
of its merits, very promptly replied that it did not suit 
him at all, though a fine discourse. "It was," said he, 
"too smooth, too tame and spiritless/' and then added, 
that he liked that kind of preaching best that would drive 
him up into the corner of his pew, and make him feel as 
though the devil was after him. It is the preaching that 
plies the conscience, and deals with the heart, that will 
move men to penitence and prayer, and bring them to God. 

Such was the character of the early Methodist ministry, 
and such is the general character of our ministry still. 
And I most devoutly pray that we may ever retain this 
feature of early Methodism in the ministry of the Church. 
One of the most distinguished divines of the present cen- 
tury has characterized Methodism, ** Christianity in earn- 
est/' And why is she such? Principally because she 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



251 



has always had an earnest, faithful ministry. See the 
•fathers of our itinerancy going forth to the conversion of 
the new world — a noble and Herculean task. They 
encountered the lukewarmness of the Churches, on the 
one hand, and the infidelity and wickedness of the world, 
on the other, and the deep-rooted prejudices of both com- 
bined. But success crowned their ministry. Like true 
successors of the apostles, they traversed the states and 
territories of this great republic from Maine to Louisiana, 
and from the lakes of the north to the Carolinas. They 
scaled its mountains, crossed its plains, swam its rivers, 
and preached the Gospel in the midst of its forests, and, 
with Bible, Hymn-Book, Discipline, and a few clothes in 
portmanteaus, kept pace with the advancing tide of popu- 
lation, and turned the moral wilderness into a fruitful 
field, and made many portions of it as the garden of the 
Lord. 

To conclude : we would exhort those who may chance 
to read this discourse, to remember the fathers in the min- 
istry — the sainted dead of our Church — not to pray for 
them, or weep over them, but to cherish their memories ; 
to think of their noble deeds, their self-denial, living piety, 
burning zeal, and unremitted toil, and, as far as may be, 
imitate their example. But especially should we remem- 
ber their widows and orphan children, who are still with 
us. And we should remember those, too, who have out- 
lived their generations, and still continue with us as rep- 
resentatives of an age gone by, whom we occasionally 
greet in the annual conferences, and whose venerable 
forms, whitened locks, and furrowed cheeks tell us of the 
wastes of time and former toil. They well deserve our 
affectionate regard, and a comfortable support in the au- 
tumn of life from the Church they have so faithfully 
served. 



252 



THE CERTAINTY OF PROPHECY. 



SEEMON XVIH. 

BY REV. JOHJS T W. FOWBLE. 

THE CEETAINTY OF PROPHECY. 

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall 
speak, and not lie: thongh it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely 
come, it will not tarry," Habaklkuk n, 3. 

The argument in favor of the inspiration of the Scrip- 
tures, drawn from the fulfillment of prophecy, is plain and 
convincing. To us, poor mortals, it may, with great pro- 
priety, be said: "Ye know not what a day may bring 
forth.' 9 Let the most gifted of men be placed, at the 
dawn of a cloudless morning, upon some lofty eminence, 
whence an extensive prospect may open on all sides ; from 
this point of observation let him narrowly scan each ob- 
ject of heaven and earth, within view ; let him carefully 
mark every indication, and, beside, let him be placed in 
instantaneous communication with other favored individu- 
als, in every part of the world, and yet, with all these ad- 
vantages, and the history of each preceding day, since the 
commencement of time, spread out before him, he can 
not, with any degree of certainty, predict, at morn, what 
shall be at even. With all his boasted abilities he can no.t 
penetrate the future. To him it is dark and void. 

Far otherwise was it with those men who spoke of the 
future "as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." We 
hear them, in the language of the prophetic Scriptures, 
predicting events improbable to human reason, and even 
in opposition to it, which, centuries afterward, met their 
accomplishment so minutely, and so fully, as to leave no 
room to doubt that infinite Prescience alone could have seen 
and revealed them to men. The antecedence of the 



THE CERTAINTY OF PROPHECY. 



253 



prophecy, and the consequence of the events being estab- 
lished, we are compelled to acknowledge the hand of God 
in them. Such is the unyielding strength of that founda- 
tion upon which the word of the Lord rests. Standing on 
this rock the Christian triumphantly says : 

"Blind unbelief is sure to err, 
And scan his work in vain ; 
God is his own interpreter, 
And he will make it plain." 

The text suggests the following proposition : 

That the purposes of God, though apparently long 
delayed, will inevitably meet their accomplishment. 

In the first place, let us illustrate this proposition. 

For this purpose we will select an individual in a remote 
age of the world. An account of this remarkable man, 
and of the events of his history, which shed light upon 
our subject, is given in the inspired book. We turn to 
the twelfth chapter of Genesis. "Now the Lord had said 
unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy 
kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I 
will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, 
and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ; and thou 
shalt be a blessing : and I will bless them that bless thee, 
and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all 
families of the earth be blessed.'' 

These passages contain two distinct promises, or two 
prophetic declarations. God here engages to bestow upon 
Abraham, and his posterity, great national distinction, and 
special religious privileges. This is the first promise. 
The second relates to a period more remote, and to the 
bestowment of blessings more exalted in their nature, and 
extensive in their compass — "In thee shall all the families 
of the earth be blessed." The Gospel is here preached 
to Abraham. These are the purposes of God, revealed to 
the patriarch. Now let us inquire into the manner and 
period of their accomplishment. 

22 



254 



THE CERTAINTY OE PROPHECY. 



The first step, in the order of divine Providence, for the 
fulfillment of this first promise, is to lead the patriarch 
out from his own land and kindred. Abraham is hence- 
forth to be a wanderer and a pilgrim in a strange land. 
St. Stephen says, "God gave him none inheritance in it, 
no, not so much as to set his foot on," Acts vii, 5. To us 
it would seem that this order was calculated to defeat the 
declared purpose of God. What a strange road to family 
distinction and national pre-eminence ! But this act is 
full of instruction. The Church is henceforth to be dis- 
tinct from the world — a community of itself. The begin- 
ning of sanctification is to separate from evil. 

Let us pursue this promise toward its accomplishment. 
Other seeming difficulties arise : the future becomes more 
dark. Not only does the "heir of the promise" find him- 
self a stranger and pilgrim of the wilderness, but at 
nearly one hundred years of age, with a wife also far ad- 
vanced in life, he is yet childless. To human reason the 
fulfillment of the promise was almost impossible ; to the 
divine Mind it was absolutely certain. The Lord's ways 
are not as our ways. At ninety years of age Sarah bears 
a son. Abraham is no longer childless. One ray of light 
falls upon the darkened pathway of the patriarch. Years 
pass away, and the child grows in stature, and in the con- 
fidence and affection of his parents. 

Let us again turn to our history. And God said to 
Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom 
thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah ; and 
offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the moun- 
tains which I will tell thee of." If ever mortal man was 
challenged to reject the counsel of the Almighty, it was 
in this instance. Every consideration of affection, honor, 
and justice seemed to say, this must not, can not be. 
Affection for children must, in every believing parent, be 
strong and enduring as life. But in this instance it was 



THE CERTAINTY OF PROPHECY. 



255 



such as only an Abraham could feel toward an Isaac. 
And yet faith triumphed. Abraham rose up early in the 
morning, and with his son and servants, and the cloven 
wood, set forward to the mount of sacrifice. Arriving, 
he builded the altar, laid the wood upon it, bound his un- 
resisting son, and had lifted up the bloody knife for slaugh- 
ter, when the angel of God interposed, saying, "Lay not 
thy hand upon the lad!" It was enough; his faith was 
perfect ; he loved God with all his heart. 

Years roll on, and every year tends to ripen" the 
purpose of God. Abraham and Sarah, having closed the 
long, and painful pilgrimage of life, are now quietly 
sleeping, side by side, in the sepulcher of the field of 
Machpelah. The posterity of Abraham, in the family of 
his grandson — Jacob — has increased to the number of 
seventy and five souls. All-consuming famine overspreads 
the land. There is no corn, and death threatens, at once 
and forever, to thwart the purpose of God declared in 
prophecy. By providences, mysteriously afflictive, the 
whole family are forced into Egypt. They live, prosper, 
multiply. Oppressive jealousy lifts its iron scourge over 
their heads. k Chains of servitude are fastened upon them. 
They are slaves ! 0, how the doubting skeptic now, for a 
time, triumphs ! Where is the promise of his coming ? 
Where the national pre-eminence promised the posterity 
of Abraham? Hold thy peace, doubting one, "for the 
vision is yet for an appointed time ; in the end it shall 
speak and not lie; it will surely come; it will not tarry." 

The cry of distress filled all the land — rose up to heaven 
and entered the ear of God. It was not only heard, but 
heeded. Jehovah came down, brought his people out of 
bondage, with a high hand and mighty arm led them, 
"dry shod/' through the midst of the Red Sea, and then 
buried, forever, the persecutors and oppressors of his 
Church. 



256 



THE CERTAINTY OF PROPHECY. 



The star of promise now brightens in the firmament of 
prophecy. The seed of Abraham are now marching to- 
ward Canaan ; but new disasters await them. They are 
yet to be proved. They enter the wilderness, from which, 
alas ! but few are ever to escape. For forty years the 
conflict between the unbelief of the people and the truth 
of God continues. Failing to allure them onward by be- 
nevolence and mercy, Jehovah swears in his wrath, that 
they shall not enter into that rest. A new generation 
grows up and takes the place of those, doomed, through 
unbelief, to lay their bones in the solitude of the wilder- 
ness. The time of the promise draws nigh. The cup of 
the Amorites is full. The memorial of the faith and obe- 
dience of Abraham is yet present to the divine Mind. 
The "end" of the vision is at hand. For nearly five 
hundred years the purposes of God have been maturing, 
and now we see a large army of men, women, and chil- 
dren approaching the eastern bank of Jordan. Who are 
these, and whence come they? These are the children of 
the solitary and childless wanderer of the wilderness ; and 
they come from Egypt, from Hara, from Ur of Chaldea. 
They enter and possess the land, the word of the Lord is 
magnified, and the purpose of the Almighty, though so 
long delayed, is at length accomplished. 

But the promise of God to Abraham included other, re- 
mote, and yet more extensive blessings. "In thy seed 
shall all families of the earth be blessed;" "He saith not, 
And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy 
seed, which is Christ," Galatians iii, 16. Earlier and 
fainter manifestations of this great truth had, indeed, been 
given to mankind. Long prior to this time it had been 
predicted, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the ser- 
pent's head." But now, that the Church is located in a 
single family, and is distinguished by peculiar marks and 
signs, we are led to look, in a certain direction, for the 



THE CERTAINTY OF PROPHECY. 



257 



accomplishment of this glorious prediction. God promises 
the world a Savior; that promise he never forgets, nor 
does any event in the great plans of his moral government 
diverge from the leading intention of Divine benevolence, 
in the redemption of man by the Lord Jesus Christ. But 
how many and sad the reverses that happened to God's 
people, during the "waiting of this vision," for four thou- 
sand years ! 

We see them in the wilderness ; we see them in captiv- 
ity, spoiled by rapacious conquerors, and corrupted by 
idolatrous rulers ; their towns and cities despoiled, sacked, 
pillaged, and burned ; the country overrun by hordes of 
implacable barbarians. Babylon, and Syria, and Egypt, 
and Philistia, in turn, are engaged in spoiling the heritage 
of the Church. By Babel's streams, companies of cap- 
tive Jews are seen touching their harps of sorrow, and 
weeping, in anguish, over the desolations of Judea and 
Jerusalem ! But yet, at length, though torn, and scathed, 
and persecuted, they come up out of the wilderness, lean- 
ing upon the arm of their beloved. After a long night of 
darkness the star out of Jacob arose ; the deliverer came 
to Israel. "But when the fullness of the time was come, 
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under 
the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we 
might receive the adoption of sons," Galatians iv, 4, 5. 
The purpose of God is accomplished; the world has a 
Savior. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth 
peace, good- will toward men." 

Having illustrated the proposition in the bearing of 
these prophecies, let us now, in the second place, apply it. 

God can not change. "He is the same yesterday, to- 
* day, and forever." He continues to govern the world in 
righteousness and truth. The Lord's word, upon earth, 
is yet but partly perfected ; much yet remains to be ful- 
filled. But the Christian, planting his feet upon the im- 

22* 



258 



THE CERTAINTY OF PROPHECY. 



movable foundation of prophecy, looks forward, in glorious 
hope, to the future and full revelations of the mercy and 
power of God. Let us contemplate a few leading events, 
shadowed forth in the prophetic Scriptures, which are yet 
to be accomplished. 

First. The destruction of idolatry and false religion. 

Whatever system denies to Jesus Christ the excellency 
and splendor of his offices and character, robs the divine 
Being of his sovereign authority and rule, or corrupts the 
spiritual and effective simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus, is 
Antichrist. This power is marked by various character- 
istics in the word of God. It has long been in the world, 
and will hinder and interrupt the pure doctrines of Christ, 
till it be taken out of the way. The same inspired ringer 
that writes its characteristics upon leaves of Scripture, in 
that same Scripture predicts its destruction. The day of 
doom is fast approaching ; no power on earth can arrest 
it. Though now, for a time, this system of lies and blas- 
phemy may prosper so as to alarm the fears of many 
pious Christians, the prayers of the souls under the altar, 
crying, "How long?" are entering into the ears of the 
Lord of Sabaoth. Sudden, fearful, and complete will be 
her overthrow. Like a great millstone shall she be cast 
down, to rise no more forever. Then shall heaven and 
earth resound the acclamation, "Halleluiah, halleluiah, 
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth \" 

Again : the Scriptures predict the spread of the Gospel 
to all nations, and the approach of the day when the 
knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters 
cover the great deep of ocean. This event may be long 
delayed ; corruption may roll, like a flood of desolation, 
on the world ; God may be denied, and religion subjected 
to universal contempt and opposition ; yet the eye of faith 
steadily contemplates the triumph of truth. "As I live, 
saith the Lord God, every knee shall bow to me, and every 



THE CERTAINTY OF PROPHECY. 



259 



tongue shall confess to God," Romans xiv, 11. Jesus 
Christ has put into the mouths of his praying followers 
the sentence, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in 
earth, as it is done in heaven!" That prayer will be an- 
swered ; how and when, are questions we do not now at- 
tempt to explain; but the event itself is certain. The 
wicked shall not always triumph ; all of earth shall feel 
the renovating hand of God. The tempest of evil having 
passed by, then shall the bow of endless peace span the 
moral firmament. Eden's innocence, and Eden's happi- 
ness shall then be restored in that new heaven and new 
earth, wherein righteousness shall dwell. 

But, further : the word of the Lord predicts the resurrec- 
tion of the human body, and the final judgment of the world. 

Skeptics may still tauntingly inquire, "How are the 
dead raised up? and with what bodies do they come?" 
This can not be ; it is unphilosophical, absurd, and im- 
possible. All this shakes not our faith. "Was Jesus raised 
from the dead? Let the witnesses be heard! Did he 
rise? Answer, ye millions, in whose hearts the Holy 
Ghost witnesses this fact. His resurrection is the model 
and pledge of ours. " Christ, the first fruits, afterward 
they that are Christ's at his coming." 

But we shall be judged. "We must all appear before the 
judgment-seat of Christ." "And I saw the dead, small 
and great, stand before God ; and the books were opened : 
and another book was opened, which is the book of life : 
and the dead were judged out of those things which were 
written in the books, according to their works. And the 
sea gave up the dead which were in it : and death and 
hell delivered up the dead which were in them : and they 
were judged every man according to their works," Reve- 
lation xx, 12, 13. What a scene will then be presented! 
Can imagination picture its overwhelming realities ? The 
dead of all ages are here— kings and mighty men, the 



260 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



aged patriarch, the seer, the apostles, martyrs, and all the 
witnesses of Jesus. And the wicked are here — the proud, 
the persecutor, the vile, the infidel, skeptic man is here, 
and he is here for judgment for heaven or hell ! That 
judgment has its issues. They are life and death. They 
are eternal, unchangeable, limitless. '* Come, ye blessed," 
and "Depart, ye cursed," are the final sentences which 
shall, on the one hand, fill with rapture, or, on the other, 
drive to desperation. In God's holy book, salvation or dam- 
nation is regarded as the inevitable doom of each and all. 

The subject is full of terror to the wicked. His day is 
coming. Now he may sport with eternal things, and 
laugh at the idea of coming vengeance, but it steadily ap- 
proaches. 0, sinner, haste for thy life ; haste to Jesus ! 

But the Christian is interested too deeply to forget it. 
To him it will be the end of care, and trouble, and sin. 
Both events are certain. God hath said it. The predic- 
tion can not fail. It must meet its final accomplishment. 
Christian reader, endure unto the end and thou shalt have 
a crown of life. Amen. 



SEEMON XIX. 

BY REV. ASBURY LOWREY. 

THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 

"That lie would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be 
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man ; that Christ may 
dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 
may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and 
length, and depth, and hight ; and to know the love of Christ which pass- 
eth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God," 
Ephesians m, 16-19. 

This is, perhaps, the most comprehensive, vigorous, and 
deeply-spiritual prayer ever uttered even by inspired lips. 
The power of a mighty intellect, the energy of a cultivated 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



261 



style, the afflatus of plenary inspiration, the fertility of a 
sanctified imagination, and the sweetness and fervor of a 
holy heart are here concentrated in one mighty effort to 
evolve the most lofty, most profound, and most transcend- 
ently-glorious thoughts. No man, unless God had 
breathed upon him, and said, "Receive ye the Holy 
Ghost/ ' could ascend to such sublime hights in divinity, 
and flash around him such a blaze of glory. In this re- 
markable prayer, which expresses the essence and pleni- 
tude of religion, there are specifications of the blessings 
implored, of the agent and instrument by which they are 
to be communicated, of the measure according to which he 
would have them conferred, and of the great end for which 
he covets their bestowment. 

1. The first cardinal blessing implored is strength; thus 
expressed: "That he would grant you . . to be strength- 
ened with might by his Spirit in the inner man/' It is 
not physical nor intellectual strength ; but moral power ; 
the power of faith ; the power of love ; the invincible 
power of holiness. That such is the power pleaded for, is 
deducible from the agent which communicates it — the 
Spirit. Physical strength may be augmented by material 
nourishment and corporeal exercise ; and intellectual 
strength may be vastly increased by scientific culture and 
intense methodical thinking; but the spiritual man can 
not expand or strengthen his powers by any such appli- 
ances, because the moral faculties, in unregenerate nature, 
are not merely suspended in their exercise, but are dead. 
The Holy Ghost, a creative energy, must resuscitate and 
breathe life into them before moral power becomes an 
attribute of the man. In every stage of spiritual im- 
provement, from inception to maturity, it is the appropri- 
ate function of the Holy Spirit to generate life and strength 
in the* soul. Indeed, the Holy Ghost is the only efficient, 
quickening, renewing, invigorating agent in the world of 



262 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



mind. The whole executive department in the kingdom 
of grace belongs to him, and every encouraging aspect 
in the moral world is directly traceable to his agency. 
He empowers conscience, begets love, implants hope, and 
inspires the energy to believe. That it is spiritual strength 
pleaded for, is further deducible from the nature of the 
substance which is the recipient of it. This is designated 
as the inner man, that is, the soul, which is pure spirit; 
the immaterial in our composition ; the seat, and only seat, 
of moral power. Hence, if there be any adaptation of 
means to ends in the plans and operations of God, the 
strength implored must be spiritual, as the appropriate 
work of the agent is to communicate this species of power, 
and the capacity of the recipient will admit of strength in 
no other sense. That the " inner man" is powerless in 
its unregenerate state, is the uniform doctrine of Scripture. 
This is clearly implied in the numerous passages in which 
the human family are declared to be dead. It is involved 
in all those texts which affirm man's inability to do any 
work acceptable to God without supernatural aid, and 
in those passages in which men are described as alienated 
from God and imprisoned by sin and Satan. But the doe- 
trine is specifically asserted in the words following: "For 
when we were without strength, Christ died for the un- 
godly;" without strength to change the bias and tendency 
of our own natures toward evil ; without strength to over- 
come the world and resist the grand adversary of the 
soul ; without strength to check the fury and control the 
irregularities of our passions. This is the state to which 
sin reduced us— the state in which the redeeming blood 
and strengthening Spirit found us. But the text com- 
prises a prayer for strength which is based upon the glori- 
ous truth that, as the atonement provides for it, the Holy 
Ghost is competent to speak the might of God into our 
spiritual being ; and in so great a measure, too, that every 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



263 



unruly passion is subdued ; that every inordinate desire is 
quenched; that every wild, unchaste imagination is con- 
trolled ; that every wandering affection is restrained ; and 
that every temptation, whether it spring from the lurking- 
vestiges of the carnal mind within, or the perverseness of 
the world without, or the devices of Satan beneath, is 
resisted, and the vestments of the soul are preserved 
" without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." Nor is 
the strength of the inner man without its perceptible man- 
ifestations. Like the electric fluid that plays along the 
wires, it speaks in significant language across the world. 
Like the compressed steam, it moves a complex machinery. 
Like the insinuating water, it sets a mountain avalanche 
in motion. 

Will you have instances of might in the inner man? 
What empowered Daniel to visit his chamber and kneel 
with his windows open toward Jerusalem, and pray three 
times a day to his God, in cool defiance of the infamous 
decree which doomed every one to the lion's den who 
should dare to ask a petition of any being, except Darius, 
the King, for the space of thirty days? What qualified 
the apostle Paul to defend himself before haughty Roman 
dignitaries with such noble, commanding eloquence, un- 
moved by prospective torture and a violent death ? These 
things were not done by the strength of mind or muscle, 
but by the unconquerable " might of the inner man." 
We have countless instances in the triumphant Christian 
deaths chronicled every year in the history of the Church. 
There is a delicate, timid female, so diffident that she 
startles at the sound of her own voice in public, and 
trembles, turns pale, and faints at the slightest prospect 
of danger. Death approaches. She views it as the call 
of her heavenly Father to pass away to her real home ; 
whereupon she takes a friendly leave of earth ; then sets 
her face toward her native skies, and walks, with a firm 



264 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



and steady tread, through the valley and shadow of death, 
while cheerful hopes and smiles sit undisturbed upon her 
sweet, seraphic brow. How shall we account for this 
strange conjunction of fortitude and timidity, except it be 
on the principle that the Holy Ghost had inspired her with 
" might in the inner man?" 

2. The second blessing supplicated is, the indwelling of 
Christ; thus expressed: 4 'That Christ may dwell in your 
hearts by faith." Faith institutes union between Christ 
and the soul. It is a bond so strong, a grace of the heart 
so acceptable and winning in the sight of God himself, 
that it brings Christ into the soul, and detains him there, 
not as a transient guest, but as a permanent resident. 
Faith serves two purposes in this uniting process. First, 
it sets the heart in order, making it a habitation of God, 
through the Spirit ; then it soars heavenward, and, exert- 
ing its giant power with the Supreme, prevails upon 
Christ to accept its occupancy and reign over the empire 
of our spiritual being. This works a splendid revolution. 
The dark, heaven-insulting usurpation of Satan is sub- 
verted, and a new government over the heart is estab- 
lished; Christ is enthroned in the affections; he sits there 
as a sceptered monarch, guiding the soul to a glorious des- 
tiny. Now he pervades the passions, quickens the hopes, 
and breathes the hallowing ardors of divinity into the 
devotions. He proves his supremacy and cements his 
subjects to himself by his incomparable administration. 
It is benign, universal, and all-controlling. Do commo- 
tions arise? he says, " Peace, be still!" Do enemies 
attack? he says. "Thus far shalt thou come, but no far- 
ther." Does death approach, clad in terror, and the 
grave send up her legion of specters ? we hear him say, 
"0 death, I will be thy plague! grave, I will be thy 
destruction! repentance is hid from my eyes." This 
mystic indwelling of Christ is a generic blessing, com- 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



265 



prising all the elements of the interior life. The instant 
the coalition takes place we become partakers of the 
Divine nature ; his quickening energy pervades our whole 
being: we are full of Christ. And it is when we stand 
upon the summit- level of such vast experience that our 
life is hid with Christ in God, and the apostolic acclaim 
tells the story of our victories, and indicates the onward 
and upward march of the soul: "I live, yet not I, but 
Christ liveth in me." It must be conceded the mode of 
Christ's being in the soul is mysterious and incomprehen- 
sible. But we can not discard the doctrine on this 
account without taking a position that would land in uni* 
versal skepticism. We can not comprehend how we live 
in the air and the air exists in us ; nor how, by inhaling 
the atmosphere, it is decomposed and its constituent ele- 
ments transmuted into the different substances of the 
physical system ; yet we admit the facts. So Christ 
dwells in our hearts, augmenting * the energies of the 
*' inner man" with his own nature; but the mode of his 
being therein, and the process of communicating his 
strength to the spiritual faculties lie beyond our compre- 
hension. It is spirit embracing spirit ; the finite in coali- 
tion with the Infinite ; God and man communing and co- 
existing together by faith on our part. This fact we know 
by revelation's beaming light and the soul's sweet expe- 
rience, while the manner is locked up in the arcana of 
mystery, and belongs to the ways which are past finding 
out. Nor should we complain because a vail is spread 
between us and this holy of holies. The joy is ours, the 
purity is ours, all the resulting benefits, now and forever, 
are ours. 

3. The apostle extends his prayer thus: "That ye 
may be rooted and grounded in love." This may be re- 
garded as the result of the indwelling of Christ — a deep, 
permanent stability in love. The apostle labors to utter 

23 



266 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



the profound thought by a double metaphor — one taken 
from vegetation, the other from architecture. The first 
allusion is to the majestic forest-tree, which, with towering 
trunk and spacious branches, has resisted the storms of a 
hundred winters and the war of a thousand tempests. 
To acquire such firmness, the Christian must be rooted 
deeply in the soil of love. If you would feel the force of 
the illustration, look at the proud tree, whose top pene- 
trates the skies, and whose far-reaching branches and 
matted foliage seem to challenge and defy the broad sweep 
and united forces of the tornado. To what shall we as- 
cribe this surprising power of resistance ? Plainly to the 
circumstance that it is so curiously and philosophically 
rooted in the solid earth as to secure every mechanical 
advantage. The roots are long, interlaced, full of sprigs, 
extending in every direction, and deeply imbedded in the 
dense earth. Here lies the secret of its strength ; fit em- 
blem of the Christian confirmed in love; fit symbol of his 
power to resist the antagonistic influences of earth and 
hell. Why is he able to rule his own spirit, despite its 
turbulence and tendency to wrong? to overcome the world 
with all its perverseness ? to repel and foil Satan with all 
his crafty devices ? The secret of his mora] power lies 
not in the high order of his talents, nor in the extent of 
his literary acquisitions, but in the glorious reality that he 
is rooted. Before such a giant spirit the most enraged 
and furious enemy is subdued, the colossal structure of 
infidelity melts away like snow beneath a burning sun, 
and frowning Death is dismantled of his terrors, while the 
soul passes its somber gates and rides away to its em- 
pyrean destination. Moreover, the metaphor teaches that 
the soul has a vegetative substance in love. This is the 
source of its nutrition — the means of its growth. In this 
nourishing element he strikes deep his powers and affec- 
tions, and grows up in knowledge, holiness, and bliss, till 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



he vies with archangels in sweetest charms and moral 
•grandeur. Indeed, the whole Christian life may be styled 
a growing process. The soil is love, the green tree is ho- 
liness, the ripe fruit is glory. 

The apostle expands the idea by borrowing an illustra- 
tion from architecture, seemingly anxious that nature and 
art should be vocal with his theme— % grounded in love." 
Here the feature of stability receives still greater promi- 
nence. The Christian is likened to a structure needing a 
firm foundation — a foundation laid deep in love. As the 
strength and firmness of the foundation give durability 
and permanence to the superstructure, so the love of 
Christ, as the basis of the temple of Christian character, 
imparts a fixedness to the principles, purposes, and habits. 
Moreover, as a solid foundation is the grand security 
against the war of elements and the wasting impressions 
of time, so being grounded in love is the unfailing pre- 
servative against apostasy. A temple of Christian char- 
acter, having such a foundation, is proof against the winds 
of adversity, the fires of persecution, and the pernicious 
touch of worldly and satanic influences. In darkness and 
tempest he can sing, "Therefore will we not fear, though 
the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into 
the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and 
be troubled; though the mountains shake with the swell- 
ing thereof. There is a river, the streams whereof shall 
make glad the city of God, the holy place of the taber- 
nacles of the Most High." 

Another effect of the indwelling of Christ is to render 
him who is so blessed competent to comprehend, with all 
saints, the vast amplitude of the love of Christ. Here 
the imagination is lost in the illimitable fullness. The 
apostle does not attempt to trace its boundaries, and yet 
his language indicates that the Christian has a capacity, 
in some sense, to compass its dimensions. Let us attempt 



268 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



the admeasurement and comprehension: First, its breadth. 
It has a lateral extension. It is as broad in redeeming 
influences as the habitable earth, which has been mapped 
out by the pencil of God as the probationary home and 
range of men. If you travel over each hemisphere, ex- 
plore the ocean, touch every isle of the sea, and visit 
every spot where the voice of man has been heard, or his 
footprints seen, you are still within the compass of Christ's 
love. It is the girdle, the vesture, the atmosphere of 
earth. Like the sun, whose mellow light pours along the 
boundaries of the globe, the love of Christ is a universal, 
a world-wide blessing. You may pass the limits of Chris- 
tendom, and of civilization, but the limits of his love you 
can not pass. Indeed, as infinite love is the grand pro- 
visional element in redemption, its sweep must not be 
bounded by the confines of this world. It is coextensive 
with the empire of glory. It is as broad as the fields of 
lio'ht, which the redeemed rano-e in their beatified state. 

o 7 o 

In short, the breadth of this love can only be measured 
by the inconceivable spread of infinity. It spans the 
ocean of immensity. 

Look at another phase of the subject — its " length.' ' 
The love of Christ has its pre-existence and its perpetuity. 
But where shall we commence or close our reckonings of 
either? Where, in the dateless calendar of eternity past, 
shall we chronicle its birth? Begin with its placid flow 
in thy soul, and trace this river to its source — trace it 
through the Christian Church, then travel up through the 
wilderness of the prophetic period, and the deeper shades 
of the patriarchal dispensation. There pause and witness 
its first outomshinsfs, in earth's direction, at the fall and 
alienation of man. Then pass on beyond the period when 
man was created, and the still more remote day when the 
morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted 
for joy over infant creations in their purity and prime. 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



269 



Then ascend still higher, to that far-distant age when God 
lit up the first intelligent spirit to move and name in sub- 
lime loneliness in unoccupied regions of space. Then 
penetrate the bosom of the Godhead, and calculate the 
pre-existence of Christ, whose history is coeval with eter- 
nity, and you will have a faint idea of the beginning of 
his love. But this process leads you backward in the 
measurement of Christ's love, till you are lost in eternity 
past. And could you compass its origin, your work is but 
half done. The length of his love comprises all eternity 
to come. The atonement of Christ has swept out a chan- 
nel in the hearts of men and the territories of the moral 
world for his love to flow on, rising and spreading, till the 
blast of Gabriel's trumpet shall wind up the history of 
time. And thereafter the fidelity of God will force it to 
glide on, swelling the tide and expanding the ocean of 
bliss, for those who have complied with Gospel requisi- 
tions, as long as spirits exist, whose being is measured by 
immortality. 

Another aspect — its " depth." The love of Christ has 
its depth — its profound, unfathomable depth. The ocean 
has its depth, the concave of heaven has its depth, but 
the love of Christ is immeasurably deeper than either. 
We can only calculate its profundity by its downward 
reachings to secure man from his abyss of misery and 
danger. In this light contemplate it. See Jesus above 
the skies ; above the highest shining orb ; above the higher 
range of angels, quite in the third heavens, seated on his 
throne of light and holiness. From thence he reaches 
down an arm of love. It passes the foot of the throne ; 
it passes the sphere of angels ; it passes the orbs in the 
visible heavens ; it stops not till it impresses its hallowing 
touch, and exerts its plastic power, upon our sin-defaced 
earth. It stops not even here, but in its downward reach- 
ings fathoms the abyssmal depths of our depravity, and 

23* 



270 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



in its redeeming provisions and schemes of rescue, de- 
scends as deep as hell. If, then, we are not all fated to 
the depths of perdition, it is because the more than equal 
depths of Christ's love have snatched us thence. 

Another phase — its "hight." But how shall we meas- 
ure its altitude, except by its provisional privileges, which 
deluge earth, crowd the sky, and gush up into heaven? 
There is nothing equaling its hight but the throne of the 
Infinite. Judge of its hight by the exalted relations to 
which it promotes you. By it, you are made kings and 
priests with God, and companions of angels. The Church 
of the first-born, and the spirits of just men made perfect, 
are your kindred. Indeed, there is not a spirit, human or 
angelic, basking in the pure sunlight of heaven, to whom 
you do not bear affinity and honorable relationship. Judge 
of its hight by the immense rewards which it bestows. 
They are nothing less than a crown of life, an eternal 
weight of glory, an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, 
and that fadeth not away. Measure its hight by the 
transcendent moral sanctity which it confers — a pure 
heart, a new nature, death to sin, fruit unto holiness, cru- 
cifixion to the world, a life hid with Christ in God. Judge 
of its hight by heaven's supreme felicities, to which it 
leads. These are indicated by every variety of expression 
and figure; as, for instance, " Enter into the joy of the 
Lord;" "For they shall hunger no more, neither thirst 
any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any 
heat ; for the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, 
shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains 
of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from their 
eyes;" "I will come again and receive you unto myself, 
that where I am there ye may be also;" "That they may 
behold my glory;" "Who shall change our vile body, 
and fashion it like unto his own glorious body;" "For 
when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



271 



also appear with him in glory/' Grander hights language 
can not paint, nor mind conceive. 

Now notice the final supplication: * ' That ye may be 
filled with all the fullness of God." This petition crowns 
the comprehensive and significant prayer. It is a perfec- 
tion. A great author remarks: " Among all the great 
sayings in this prayer, this is the greatest. To be filled 
with God is a great thing ; to be filled with the fullness of 
God is greater; but to be filled with all the fullness of 
God utterly bewilders the sense and confounds the imag- 
ination. " Beyond all controversy, it is a prayer for per- 
fection in the largest sense ; a prayer, that the soul may 
attain the highest possible enlargement, under spiritual 
influence ; a prayer, that the soul might be filled with the 
whole number and variety of gifts and graces that com- 
pose the Christian character ; a prayer for perfection, in 
the sense of maturity and ripeness of those gifts ; and, 
finally, a prayer that this state of mind, so divine and ex- 
alted, may flow on and flow out, according to the measure 
and progress of our being in eternity and the provisions 
of Christ in heaven. The soul is like an elastic substance. 
Sin acts upon it as a refrigerant — contracting, shriveling 
its powers, and fitting it only as a dark lurking-place of 
Satan and evil affections. But spiritual influence expands 
it into a noble receptacle of the Divine nature ; a spacious 
temple of the living God. Now, when the powers of the 
soul are developed to their utmost tension, under the in- 
spiration of the Holy Ghost, then is perfection attained in 
this sense. It is the fullness of God in the unfolding our 
faculties. There is a fullness in the number and variety 
of Christian graces. The apostle thus enumerates them ; 
" Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowl- 
edge temperance, to temperance patience, to patience god- 
liness, to godliness brotherly-kindness, to brotherly-kind- 
ness charity/ ' These are the furniture of the capacious 



272 



THE PROFOUND PRAYER. 



soul ; the vestments of the noble character ; the rich pen- 
cilings that beautify your whole being. When you are the 
embodiment of this constellation ; when the whole golden 
galaxy is concentrated in and shines forth from your char- 
acter, then have you attained another degree of perfec- 
tion — another measure of the fullness of God. But this 
is only a numerical fullness of gifts in their incipiency. 
You have but the germ of these spiritual plants. This 
suggests that there is a fullness of growth and maturity. 
When faith becomes so unwavering, lively, and strong 
that our life becomes literally a life of faith, and we walk 
as seeing Him who is invisible, then is this grace perfected. 
When our love becomes so ardent and pervasive as to ex- 
pel the antagonistic element of hatred, and burns with 
supreme intensity to God, and all the fervor of self-love 
toward our neighbor, then is this noble passion perfect. 
So with the residue. W^hen they all have a completeness 
of growth and golden ripeness, then have you the beauty 
of holiness, and all the fullness of God ; at least so far as 
appertains to the present state. But overstepping the 
boundaries of this life, what is meant by being filled with 
all the fullness of God there? I can not tell. This is a 
question too abstruse for me to explain; a problem too 
intricate for me to explain. I can not find any limit to 
the merits of Christ ; therefore I can not tell what fullness 
of grace and glory they have purchased for the redeemed 
in heaven. I can not fix a limit to the mind's improvabil- 
ity; hence I am utterly unable to tell how far on toward 
infinity it may yet travel. It is an ocean depth that 
drowns all my thoughts. It is an ethereal summit that 
wearies and exhausts my imagination. It is a broad 
sweep of glory that baffles and defies the most vigorous 
comprehension. Take me around the circling confines of 
immensity, and I will show you the gilded borders of this 
fullness. Conduct me through the perfections of the 



CHRISTIAN PURITY. 



273 



Godhead, and I will show you the depth of this fullness. 
Lift me to that point that marks the highest possible flight 
of the finite toward the Infinite, I will show you the hight 
of this fullness. If this can not be, contemplate, in silent 
awe, the vast subject, and let this be your rejoicing, that 
"of his fullness have all we received. " 



SERMON XX. 

BY REV. ARZA BROWN. 

CHRISTIAN PURITY. 

"Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse our- 
selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the 
fear of God," 2 Coeinthians vn, 1. 

The holy Scriptures assure us that we are not only 
guilty and condemned, on account of actual transgression, 
but that our whole moral nature is totally corrupt: "The 
whole head is sick, the whole heart faint;" "The carnal 
mind is enmity against God ; it is not subject to the laws 
of God, neither indeed can be ;" "The heart is deceitful 
above all things, and desperately wicked." It is a foun- 
tain of moral corruption, and its polluting stains are vis- 
ible in the actions of the life. The word of God and 
reason itself confirm the truth of the doctrine, that all 
the attributes of God are opposed to sin; that none but 
the "pure in heart shall see God." Nothing unholy can 
enter heaven; therefore, "without holiness no man shall 
see the Lord." All that have been redeemed from earth 
and are now saved in heaven, have "washed their robes 
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Moral 
purity and happiness are inseparably connected. It is 
important, therefore, that we have an experimental knowl- 
edge of the nature and truth of the doctrine of entire 



274 



CHRISTIAN PURITY. 



sanctification or moral purity. It is necessary not only to 
be forgiven, but also purified, in order to present peace 
and usefulness, and our eternal happiness in the world to 
come. In illustrating the words of the text, we will notice, 
L The nature and extent of the moral purity re- 
quired. 

It is a state of complete sanctification — an entire con- 
formity to the Divine nature and government. By the 
terms " flesh and spirit," the apostle, doubtless, means 
the whole man, in his sentient, intellectual, moral, and 
social nature, including all the faculties of the mind and 
affections of the heart. In the state of moral purity 
required in the Gospel, the soul is not only delivered from 
the gmilt and dominion of sin, but is also saved from its 
very existence. It is so renewed after the image of Him 
that created us, as to be sanctified throughout spirit, soul, 
and body, and " preserved blameless to the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ." In the language of Mr. Fletcher, 
"It is the cluster and maturity of the graces which com- 
pose the Christian character. In other words, it is a con- 
stellation made up of these gracious stars — perfect repent- 
ance, perfect faith, perfect hope, perfect love;" and we 
may add, perfect obedience. 

1. Perfect repentance. The Bible teaches that repent- 
ance is the gift of God : " Him hath God exalted with his 
right hand to be a Prince and a Savior ; to give repentance 
to Israel and forgiveness of sins;" " Then hath God also 
to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." From God 
we receive every "good and perfect gift." Now, as repent- 
ance is the gift of God, it must be perfect. A true and gen- 
uine penitent will hide nothing of his state. He attends 
to serious reflection, close self-examination, till he sees and 
bewails the acts of sin which he has committed, and the 
disposition that led him to sin. He deplores not only the 
transgression, but ajso the deep depravity of his heart. 



CHRISTIAN PURITY. 



275 



The light of divine truth that shines into his soul shows 
him not only the corrupt source whence transgression pro- 
ceeds, but points him also to the "glorious fountain opened 
to the house of David for sin and for uncleanness." He 
now asks, w T ith all his heart, pardon for his trangressions, 
and washing and cleansing from his inward defilement. 
This is perfect repentance, and this alone can find favor 
with God. 

2. Perfect faith. By perfect faith we mean that which 
is the result of the grace and ability we receive from God ; 
uniting assent with reliance, belief with trust: acknowl- 
edging salvation to flow from the unbounded love of God ; 
that can speak in the first person, and say, " I have 
sinned ; I have need of pardon ; my heart is depraved ; I 
need full salvation ; I believe that Christ died for me, and 
I accept of him as my Savior, and the Holy Spirit as my 
sanctifier. The promises are all the gift of my Father ; 
the blessings promised are the purchase of my Savior; 
they are all mine." This is perfect faith, which was 
clearly exemplified by Abraham in offering up his son 
Isaac, Jacob in prevailing with the angel, Daniel in the 
den of lions, the three Hebrew children in the fiery fur- 
nace, and Stephen in the hour of death. 

3. Perfect hope — which, as a bright and glittering star, 
is always visible in the moral sky of the humble Chris- 
tian ; a guide through life, radiating its light around the 
pathway of the pious; an "anchor to the soul, both sure 
and steadfast;" throwing around the grave a glorious 
halo; teaching us to despise the world and labor for 
eternity. He who has this perfect hope purifies himself, 
even as God is pure. 

4. Perfect love. " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
strength, and with all thy mind." Here the perfection of 
the love required is clearly marked. " With all thy 



276 



CHRISTIAN PURITY. 



heart:" the whole heart is filled with the love of God. 
This love admits no rival. The allurements of the world 
will not alienate the affections from God. The soul thus 
elevated by perfect love, can look down upon wealth, 
pleasure, honor, and dignity, as possessing no attractions. 
" With all thy mind :" every intellectual faculty employed 
for God; the understanding consecrated to the contempla- 
tion of his infinite excellences ; every thing banished from 
the mind which is opposed to the glory of God, and the 
salvation of man. God is in all his thoughts: " He is all 
and in all.'' The soul thus " rooted and grounded in love 
is able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, 
and length, and depth, and hight ; and to know the love 
of Christ, which passeth knowledge;" and is "filled with 
all the fullness of God ;" " God is love, and he that dwell- 
eth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him ;" "Herein is 
our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the 
day of judgment, because as he is so are we in this world." 

5. Perfect obedience. Not perfect obedience to the par- 
adisiacal law of innocence. That law was adapted to 
beings whose perceptive and judging powers were so per- 
fect that, so far as God permitted them to know any thing, 
they knew it correctly, and were not subject to error in 
judgment or practice. Man in his fallen state is not a 
proper subject of that law. His mental and bodily 
powers are so enfeebled that he can not avoid breaking 
that law in numberless instances. But Christ has fulfilled 
that law of innocence ; so that we shall not be judged by 
it, but by a law adapted to our fallen state — the "perfect 
law of liberty;" "the law of Christ." This law allows 
of sincere repentance, and is fulfilled by that "faith which 
worketh by love." By this law of liberty we shall be 
judged. Hence, it not only may, but it must be kept. It 
is the privilege of the believer to say, "The law of the 
spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the 



CHRISTIAN PURITY. 



277 



law of sin and death ; for what the law could not do, in 
that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own 
Son, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of 
the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the 
flesh but after the Spirit." If Jove be sincere, it is ac- 
cepted as the fulfilling of the law. When the soul is fully 
" cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit," all 
the Christian graces are perfected, the whole mind is 
assimilated to God, and all its energies unreservedly con- 
secrated to his service. The Holy Spirit, as comforter 
and sanctifier, dwells in the heart, and every root of bit- 
terness is eradicated, and all the plants of holiness are 
fresh, vigorous, and productive. This state of moral 
purity is what the apostle calls " sanctification of spirit, 
soul, and body." It is a full salvation from every prin- 
ciple of the heart opposed to holiness ; the entire destruc- 
tion of sin — of sin properly so called. We will now pro- 
ceed to show, 

II. That this purity of heart may be obtained in the 

PRESENT LIFE. 

1 . From the nature of God. God is holy ; he is the 
"high and lofty One whose name is holy, and who dwell - 
eth in the high and holy place/' and who is "glorious in 
holiness. " 

2. From the amplitude of the provisions of the Gospel. 
"The Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy 
the works of the devil;" " Christ also loveth the Church, 
and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse 
it with the washing of water by the word ; that he might 
present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, 
or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy 
and without blemish;" "Therefore, Jesus, also, that he 
might sanctify his people with his blood, suffered without 
the gate ;" "If we walk in the light as God is in the light, 
we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of 

24 



278 



CHRISTIAN PURITY. 



Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin;" "If we 
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our 
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness ;" "And 
for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be 
sanctified through the truth: thy word is truth;" "Whom 
we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man 
in all wisdom ; that we may present every man perfect in 
Christ Jesus." 

3. From the commands of God. "Be ye, therefore, 
perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." 
God is infinitely holy. The command requires unmingled 
holiness. Be ye holy as God is holy, according to the 
extent of your powers. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all. thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 
thy strength, and with all thy mind." Can the Christian, 
in the exercise of all the powers God has given him, and 
by the aid of the Holy Spirit, which God has said shall 
be sufficient for him, and which all who ask will receive, 
obey these commands? If he can, then our proposition is 
sustained; holiness is attainable. "I am the Lord your 
God ; ye shall, therefore, sanctify yourselves ; and be ye 
holy;" "Put on charity, which is the bond of perfect- 
ness;" "Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may 
be perfect and entire, wanting nothing;" "Follow peace 
with all men, and holiness, without which no one shall see 
the Lord." Now, if it be true that God is ever ready to 
grant us his Spirit to enable us to do our duty, then cer- 
tainly we have power to obey the command of God, and 
to be fully sanctified in the present life. 

4. From the 'promises of God. "And he shall redeem 
Israel from all his iniquities;" " Then will I sprinkle clean 
water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthi- 
ness and from all your idols will I cleanse you ;" "And the 
Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of 
thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and 



CHRISTIAN PURITY. 



279 



with all thy soul, that thou mayest live;" " Blessed are 
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness ; for 
they shall be filled. " With these promises, and many 
more that might be adduced, who can doubt the possibil- 
ity of being fully cleansed from all unrighteousness in the 
present life ? 

5. From the prayers of our Savior, and by the prayers 
of men who were inspired by the Holy Ghost. " I pray 
not," said our blessed Lord, "that thou shouldst take 
them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them 
from the evil;" " Sanctify them through thy truth: thy 
word is truth;" "Neither pray I for these alone, but for 
them also who shall believe on me through their word ; 
that they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me and 
I in thee, that they also may be one in us ; I in them 
and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one." 
David prayed, "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, 
and cleanse me from my sin;" "Purge me with hyssop, 
and I shall be clean ; wash me, and I shall be whiter than 
snow. Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a 
right spirit within me." Paul said, "I bow my knees 
unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
he would grant you, that ye, being rooted and grounded 
in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is 
the breadth, and length, and depth, and hight; and to 
know the love of Christ, w T hich passeth knowledge, that 
ye may be filed with all the fullness of God;" "The 
very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God 
your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blame- 
less unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful 
is he who hath called you, who also will do it;" " Labor- 
ing fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect 
and complete in all the will of God." Here are prayers 
for entire sanctification in this life ; and the apostle says it 
will be done. 



280 



CHRISTIAN PURITY. 



6. From the testimony of God concerning many of his 
saints. The Holy Ghost bears testimony that " Enoch 
walked with God three hundred years ; and by faith he 
was translated that he should not see death ; for before 
his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased 
God." Now, as God is holy, and can not look upon sin 
with allowance, but is angry with the wicked every day, 
and as two can not walk together except they be agreed, 
Enoch must have been holy three hundred years. " Noah 
was a just man and perfect in his generation ;" " Caleb 
and Joshua followed the Lord fidly " Zacharias and 
Elizabeth were both righteous before God, and walking in 
all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blame- 
less;" "Blessed are the undeflled in the way, who walk 
in the law of the Lord;" "The upright shall dwell 
in the land; the perfect shall remain in it;" " Blessed are 
the pure in heart, for they shall see God;" " Herein is the 
love of God made perfect, that we may have boldness in 
the day of judgment; because as he is so are we in this 
world;" "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I 
live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the life which 
I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of 
God;" " Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily, and 
justly, and unblamably we behaved ourselves among you 
that believed;" "Those things which ye have learned, 
and received, and heard, and seen in me, do ; and the God 
of peace shall be with you;" "Brethren, be followers to- 
gether of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have 
us for an example;" "Be followers of me, even as I also 
am of Christ." Here, then, we have the nature of God; 
the rich and ample provisions of the Gospel ; the com- 
mands and promises of God; the prayers of Christ and 
inspired men, and the examples of the Old and New Tes- 
tament saints, all testifying that we may be "cleansed 
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit," and that we 



CHRISTIAN PURITY. 



281 



may receive this great salvation now. Who, then, can 
doubt the possibility of being fully sanctified in the pres- 
ent life? "God is love, and he that dwelleth in love 
dwelleth in God, and God in him." We will now proceed 
to show, 

III. HOW THIS WORK IS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED. 

1 . We must have a clear and definite view of the doctrine 
itself. Some persons, by placing it too low, have pre- 
sumed that they were fully cleansed from all filthiness of 
the flesh and spirit when they were only justified. This 
opinion may do serious harm ; for unless believers are 
fully convinced of the deep depravity and corruption of 
their hearts, they will have but little concern about entire 
s an ctifi cation. Nor will they be likely to exercise their 
abilities to the uttermost, trusting in the efficacy of the 
blood of Jesus, and the sanctifying influence of the Holy 
Spirit for a higher state of inward purity. Others, by 
placing it too high, have mistaken it for the maturity and 
glory of departed saints, and, finding they can not attain 
to it, have given up seeking for it ; while others, by view- 
ing it as the maturity of grace to which all true believers 
may attain under the Gospel dispensation, have, by faith, 
soon entered into the rest of perfect love. 

2. In order to seek this blessing aright we must deeply feel 
its importance. We must have an internal wrestling ; our 
hearts must be stirred with inexpressible desire after holi- 
ness or moral purity; we must "hunger and thirst after 
righteousness, " before we can be filled. But do you ask, 
"What can I do? I have no faith; I do not hunger and 
thirst after righteousness ?" I answer, there is something 
that you can do. God's word declares, "Whosoever shall 
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Can 
vou not call on him? But you say, "I have no earnest- 
ness" Still call on him as well as you can. Begin to 
pray in a spirit of deep and unwavering earnestness, and 

24* 



282 



CHRISTIAN PURITY. 



fix your mind on the necessity of the present attainment 
of holiness of heart. 

3. We must consecrate ourselves wholly to God — soul, 
body, talents, property, and friends, just as we are, and 
all we have, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to 
God, as our most reasonable service ; submitting in all 
things to thawill of God; praying, "Lord, if thou wilt 
thou canst make me clean ; I yield myself up to thee ; I 
can not form my heart anew; thou only canst do the 
work." In all this cleansing, or setting ourselves apart 
for Christ, we can not put away sin ; our only remedy is 
the blood of Christ. 

4. This blessing must be sought by simple faith — by an 
unwavering trust in Christ as an almighty Savior, and in 
the method he has revealed in his holy word — by faith 
in his atoning sacrifice, and by the power of his sanctify- 
ing Spirit. It must be a firm trust in Christ to save us: 
We must believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is willing to 
save us — to save us now from all sin: " Him that cometh 
to me I will in no wise cast out." If we apply to him 
with no other plea than this, that we are sinful and de- 
filed, and embrace him by faith as a mighty and gracious 
Savior, we shall find the blessing sought. He came to 
make an atonement for us, and to create in our hearts ho- 
liness and love. By submitting to be saved by the sancti- 
fying grace of Christ alone, we give all the glory to the 
gracious Savior. True faith in Christ places us within the 
circle of the Divine attributes, as a fortress. Obtain this, 
and the privileges of the new covenant of grace are ours. 
We must let nothing hinder us. Why should we ? Christ 
is ready, and "he is able." He is now waiting for us ; he 
is at "the door;" believe and be saved; the work is done. 

"I am my Lord's and lie is mine; 
He drew me and I followed on, 
Charmed to confess the voice divine." 



NECESSITY AND EVIDENCES OF REVELATION. 283 



SEKMON" XXI. 

BY RE Y. ALEXANDER NELSON. 
NECESSITY AND EVIDENCES OF REVELATION. 
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God," 2 Timothy m, 16. 

Our object will be to show, first, the necessity of a rev- 
elation ; and, second, some of the evidences of that reve- 
lation. 

I. Every thing in nature gives evidence both of design 
and goodness. The sun is placed in the center to dispense 
light and heat, life and power to all around. The earth, 
by obeying some hidden laws, revolves around this cen- 
tral fire, causing the seasons, and, by its counter revolu- 
tions, day and night. We discover that this earth is pro- 
ductive, yielding a- sufficiency, in every clime, for the 
wants of man, the only rational being upon the globe. 
Hence, we see that all this goodness is directed to him. 

We discover, also, by the aid of philosophy, that the 
laws of nature are admirably adapted for this purpose ; 
and it would seem, in some instances, that Nature stepped 
aside and formed exceptions to her general rule, for the 
very purpose of bearing comfort to man. This proves 
that man is the great object of God's regard. 

We are thence led to examine man, the favored object 
of God's love. And, at first, we are struck with the 
beauty of the structure, and the intelligence that beams 
from his countenance, unlike any thing that the mortal 
eye ever beheld. But no less beautiful is the whole phys- 
ical organization; combining symmetry and strength, 
beauty and harmony, to a degree unsurpassed by any 
other object upon the earth. Well might the Psalmist 
say, ' 'We are fearfully and wonderfully made." 



284 NECESSITY AND EVIDENCES OF REVELATION. 

From this we ascend a step higher, and examine what 
distinguishes him from the creation over which he has do- 
minion. We discover what we term mind, with powers 
that are almost infinite ; capable of separating the con- 
stituent parts of air and water, and holding up the very 
atoms that the God of nature put together to form these 
elements, and can "send the lightnings, and they go, and 
say, Here we are and then darting into space, and 
measuring the distance and weighing those bodies, with 
accuracy, that are millions of miles distant. This shows 
us that man was created for some great and important 
end. From this we are led to examine, not only what 
man is now, with the light of science beaming upon him, 
but what he is by nature. We behold the infant in the 
arms of its nurse, in a degree of entire helplessness, inca- 
pable of uttering an articulate sound, and yet we find it 
subject to affliction. Pain racks its system, and cries are 
extorted from its lips. And as it progresses, we learn it 
is not only subject to pain, and disease, and death, but its 
nature is defiled. Anger lurks within, jealousy tortures 
its soul, and passion rankles in its bosom. Such is man 
by nature. Now view him in prime, when all these 
passions are fully developed, and you will see him eagerly 
and obstinately pushing his way through life, in pursuit 
of something the world has been pleased to call happiness ; 
and although he never finds it, yet he is always in pur- 
suit of it. No less eager is the man of science. He an- 
alyzes nature ; examines earth from center to circumfer- 
ence ; ransacks sea and land ; but is equally unsuccessful. 

There is another characteristic peculiar to man — a con- 
sciousness of a supreme Being, and a future state. But 
what that Being is, or what he requires of him, he can 
not find out by nature — as the African chief retorted 
upon the missionary, "I know," said he, "there is a God, 
but what that God is, whether he desires our worship, or 



NECESSITY AND EVIDENCES OF REVELATION. 285 

what kind of worship will please him, I know not." Such 
is man without revelation. 

Now, what do we learn from all this ? First, that God 
manifests goodness in his works ; second, that goodness 
has man for its object, and that blessings have been lav- 
ished upon him. In addition to these already hinted at, 
he is made susceptible of pleasure and enjoyment in a 
high degree, and there is given him wisdom and power 
above all terrestrial objects, and yet he is blind and igno- 
rant — unable to solve those difficulties that agitate the 
breast of mortals, namely: Shall I live hereafter? What 
• is the state of that hereafter? Is it conditional? These 
and other questions are constantly forcing themselves upon 
the mind of man, which he is unable to answer. In view 
of man's situation, who would not say a revelation was 
necessary ? Now, we come to the conclusion, if man stood 
in need of a revelation, that the goodness of God would 
cause him to bestow a revelation ; and these two facts, 
clearly inferable, we take it as evidence that a revelation 
has been given. 

II. What are the tests by which we may know we are in 
possession of this revelation? There ought to be tests 
that all could apply. If it required a metaphysical inves- 
tigation, or a mathematical demonstration to determine its 
truth, the poor unlettered pilgrim, however sincere, would 
never know he was worshiping God through the channel 
of his word. Hence, we say, there ought to be such 
tests as all could apply ; and there are such evidences. 

1 . The first requirement is, that it should answer all the 
important inquiries of the soul; should give us a true 
knowledge of God and his attributes ; of our origin ; and 
if fallen, how fallen, and how to regain our standing. 
And in this blessed book, and in no other, do we find all 
that information which is suited to our wants. And if 
this be not the revelation from heaven, we ask where and 



286 NECESSITY AND EVIDENCES OF REVELATION. 

what it is? Where shall we look for it? Among the 
legends of Pagan mythology? Or shall we say it is 
buried beneath the rubbish of fallen nations ? This would 
be as preposterous as the fables themselves; for if God 
has given a revelation for the benefit of mankind, he 
would certainly protect and preserve it from destruction. 
In looking over the history of Pagan mythology, we may 
find many things bearing analogy to the historical parts 
of the Bible, but in every particular accompanied with 
such embellishment of romance as to give evidence that 
they were the production of man. But when we look 
into the Bible we find it stripped of all this embellishment * 
and bombast ; its diction pure, chaste, and elevated ; com- 
ing down to the comprehension of the humblest capacity, 
and then soaring in strains too grand for mortal concep- 
tion — just such as might be expected coming from the 
Almighty ; at one time stooping to instruct mortals — 
worms of the dust — the alphabet of salvation, and then 
riding upon the storm, giving orders to the universe of 
worlds ; as in creation, at one time stooping to make a 
pebble by the ocean's side, then a world, now an insect, 
then an angel, now a few dew-drops to sparkle in the 
sun's beam, then a myriad of worlds to deck the canopy 
of heaven. 

Such we find in his works and his word — a perfect re- 
semblance, that stamps the impress of the same Author 
upon creation and revelation. 

2. A second test is, that it must not only answer all the 
important inquiries of the soul, but it must produce con- 
tentment. In a word, the enjoyment must make the soul 
happy. In proof of this I need only appeal to the be- 
liever's heart. What inward joy, what peace, what un- 
earthly rapture has he often experienced while worshiping 
God through the channel of his word ! This sensation is 
felt to be the same in all ages and by every generation 



NECESSITY AND EVIDENCES OF REVELATION. 287 

who have enjoyed vital godliness. The Psalmist says, 
"O come and see what the Lord has done for my soul!" 
Now, he must have experienced a great change on his 
*heart, or he could not, as an honest man, have called 
upon the world to come and witness what did not exist. 
Again, he says byway of exhortation: " Taste and see 
that the Lord is good." He not only felt the benign in- 
fluence on his own heart, but he could recommend, yea, 
urge it upon others. A similar expression is found in Job. 
When in deep affliction, and his friends could not prevail 
on him to acknowledge that he had sinned, he broke forth 
in language highly sublime, "0 that my words were now 
written ! that they were written in a book ! That they 
were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for- 
ever!" It would be difficult for words to express a senti- 
ment any stronger. Now, what was it of so much import- 
ance, in the estimation of this great and good man, that 
he wanted indelibly written and eternally preserved? "I 
know that my Redeemer liveth/" The words may differ, 
but the sentiment is the same with all. Call up from the 
shades of the grave a Paul, a Peter, a Stephen, and ask 
them what they enjoyed. Ask the dying martyr at the 
stake. And while the flames, preying upon his vitals, 
are carrying his spirit to the skies, he will exclaim, "I 
am happy; Jesus is with me !" Paul, after having passed 
through the deep valley of affliction, when about to be 
offered, throws his mind back over the scene and says, **l 
have fought the good fight ; I have finished my course ; I 
have kept the faith." And then looking upward, with 
that confidence with which the reality of his religion in- 
spired him, he says, " Henceforth there is laid up for me 
a crown of righteousness." 

Approach a Calvinist, an Arminian, a Baptist, and you 
will find many things in their creeds in which they will 
differ; yet upon one theme they will agree, provided they 



288 NECESSITY AND EVIDENCES OF REVELATION. 

enjoy what they profess ; that is, the religion of the Bible 
affords them peace and contentment under every vicissi- 
tude of life. Ask the young convert, who has just been 
brought from darkness to light, and from the power of sin 
and Satan unto God, and he will exclaim, "I am happy!" 
The sensation is the same in all ranks and conditions of 
men, from the king on his throne to the beggar that bows 
at his footstool. And this is not only felt in the com- 
mencement of the believer's journey, but through life and 
in the hour of death. 

3. Another test is, if this be a revelation from heaven, 
there must be evident marks of its authenticity through- 
out the whole book. In looking into the Bible, we find a 
strain of fine morality running through the entire volume. 
And although the several books composing the volume 
were written at different times, by different persons, and 
in different languages, embracing a space of fifteen hun- 
dred years, yet so well do they agree, that they can be 
embodied in one volume, and they make one entire history 
of events, all presenting the same great truths and aiming 
at one great end — to make man better and happier here, 
and prepare him for an eternity of happiness beyond the 
grave. 

4. A fourth test is its effect upon community. If this 
is revelation from heaven, wherever it is received it must 
make society better. A community of individuals, em- 
bracing it and having their lives regulated by its precepts, 
will become better members, better citizens, better parents, 
and better companions. A nation that is characterized as 
Christian, will exhibit a marked difference from that na- 
tion that is not. Look at infidel France, under the reign 
of Robespierre, when the best blood of that nation was 
caused to flow down the streets, and the guillotine daily 
groaned under its human sacrifice, occasioned by deep- 
stained infidelity. 



NECESSITY AND EVIDENCES OF REVELATION. 289 

Christianity and civilization go hand in hand, and with- 
out the former the latter, in its proper sense, is unknown. 
Experience has taught the world that the happiest way of 
civilizing a savage people, is by first endeavoring to Chris- 
tianize them. The Moravian missionaries labored for 
years, in Greenland, to prepare the minds of that savage 
people to receive Gospel truth, by first introducing natural 
religion. But as well might they have expected to melt 
the icebergs with a moonbeam, as to warm their hearts 
with so cold a doctrine. But no sooner did they introduce 
the religion of the Bible, and tell them the story of Jesus, 
than their icy hearts began to melt. 

5. The style of the Bible is an evidence of its divinity, 
as no other writings equal it in sublimity. The holy char- 
acter ascribed to its Author, and the grand descriptions of 
him, all appear real. The description of the gods in Pa- 
gan mythology fall infinitely short of the high character 
of the God of the Bible. The very first description we 
have of him is characteristic of his matchless power and 
glory throughout. "He said, Let there be light, and 
there was light/ ' He only spoke and the earth appeared. 
He spoke, and the mountains rose and the rivers flowed. 
He spoke, and darkness disappeared, and the sunshine of 
worlds burst upon the new-born earth. He spoke, and 
life, from the chaos of confusion, appeared under a myriad 
of forms. He spoke, reason dawned, and man walked 
forth in the likeness of his Creator. And when he saw 
fit to reveal himself to man, he appears in like majesty. 
And it may be doubted if there is a spot upon the globe 
so calculated, of itself, to inspire sentiments of the awful, 
as in the deep solitude, the unbroken stillness, in the 
midst of those craggy mountains, upon whose summit 
God wrote the law. Contemplate the scene : the Israel- 
ites standing in solemn awe, while a deathlike silence per- 
vades the whole host, with the firm belief they had of his 

25 



290 NECESSITY AND EVIDENCES OF REVELATION. 

real presence, beholding the manifestations of his power, 
while the lightning flashed and the mountain groaned un- 
der his awful presence. In the midst of this grandeur, 
God Almighty descended, and cried audibly, "1 am the 
Lord thy God," etc. Throughout this entire volume is 
the same dignity maintained. Isaiah says that he saw, 
in vision, the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted 
up, and his train filled the temple ; and above and around 
him were seraphim crying, "Holy, holy, holy is the 
Lord of hosts : the whole earth is full of his glory." Job 
represents him as speaking out of the whirlwind. An- 
other, as "silting upon the circle of the earth." Another, 
" as riding upon the storm." And one of the lesser proph- 
ets says, 4 'God came from Teman, and the holy One 
from Mount Paran : his glory covered the heavens, and 
the earth was full of his praise." 

6. The last thing we mention as evidence of the au- 
thenticity of the Bible, is the great work of redemption 
through the Son of God. Man, though pure and holy by 
creation, had become unholy and rebellious by the fall, 
and the penalty, with all its weight, was about to descend 
upon him. The heavens frowned, the earth groaned, and 
the sword of eternal justice was unsheathed and ready to 
cut down the offender of God's law. Just at this time, 
when despair was about to settle down upon the unhappy 
pair, the heavens glowed with a pure, a glorious light. A 
ray dawned upon man. Hope sprang up in his heart, for 
the Son of God had thrown himself between the offending 
and offended parties, and warded off the impending blow, 

This feature, which is the leading feature throughout 
the Scriptures, proves, beyond doubt, that it is of God. 
" Greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life 
for his friend." Some few isolated cases, ill authentica- 
ted, have come down to us, where individuals have laid 
down their lives for their friends. But when man has 



CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 291 



done this, he has done all he can do. He can not lay 
.down his life voluntarily for his enemy; but Christ, while 
we were yet sinners — enemies — died for the ungodly. 
Man, therefore, never could have forged the Scriptures ; for 
this great feature of them is infinitely above his highest 
conception, and beyond his most extended imagination. 
" All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." 



SERMON XXII. 

BY REV. DAYID A. DRYDEN. 
CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 
" Shew thyself a man," 1 Kings n, 2. 

King David was near the close of his eventful life. He 
had gained great distinction as a military chieftain, as a 
legislator, as a servant of God, and, from his proficiency 
in sacred poesy, had received the title of "sweet singer of 
Israel. " But his span of life was almost gone. In- 
creasing years had wasted his manly frame. It was on 
the verge of the grave. Around his dying couch were 
assembled his royal family and friends — among them his 
favorite son, Solomon. He was about to take the hon- 
ored place of his father. Upon him were soon to devolve 
all the responsibilities of Church and state. To him the 
aged father gave his dying charge, and connected with 
that charge the words of our text, "Shew thyself a man 
as much as to say, "You are but a youth. Upon you 
are about to devolve all the cares and management of this 
mighty kingdom ; but meet your responsibilities like a 
man; exhibit the tact and judgment befitting one of riper 
years." Behold that youth just entering upon the great 
theater of life— young and without experience, destined to 



292 CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 

act a part in the drama of life ! How important the po- 
sition he occupies ! What advice more proper to be en- 
graved upon the tablet of his memory ? what more appro- 
priate for his motto through life than the dying words of 
King David, " Shew thyself a man?" 

I. The characteristics of man. 

II. How these characteristics are to be improved and 

PARTLY ACQUIRED. 

I. The characteristics of man. 

1. What is man? Man is familiarly and properly de- 
nominated, "Lord of creation" — the climax of all God's 
terrestrial works. He is superior to, and holds empire 
over all creation. But at present we purpose speaking of 
man under his distinguishing characteristics only, as a 
physical, intellectual, and religious being. By physical 
man we understand the body, the tabernacle of the soul. 
Of this we need not particularly speak. It will suffice to 
remark that man's physical powers — their construction, 
arrangement, and wonderful operations — make him the 
most interesting and noble of all created beings. True, 
there is beauty, much wisdom, much wonder in the organ- 
ism of inferior beings. The naturalist, in studying and 
analyzing the mechanism of animals, or even in observing 
them externally, beholds wonderful exhibitions of skill 
and wisdom. Who does not love to penetrate the forest, 
to observe its native songsters, clad in all the beauty of 
nature, and the myriads of other interesting beings which 
inhabit its solitude ? The world is replete with beings, all 
physically wonderful and to be admired ; but none will 
compare with man. As he walks forth, with a body erect, 
"fearfully and wonderfullv made," and skillfully arranged, 
he wins for himself the acknowledgment, that physical 
man is the wonder of physical creation. Not any thing 
in all the field of vision so pleasant to look upon as a 
human countenance, radiant with intelligence, innocence, 



CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 293 

and love. Yet the body, however excellent and beautiful, 
does not constitute the man. With this alone he is no 
more than a superior animal. This, however powerful, 
is marked with decay, and will perish as the fragile flower. 
To estimate the character and dignity of man by the 
beauty and superiority of his physical person is most 
unwise. He is possessor of higher and more noble char- 
acteristics ; he is an intellectual being. By the intellect 
is meant the superior powers of the mind or soul. With- 
out entering into a disquisition on mental philosophy, we 
simply remark that man is a compound being; not com- 
pounded of soul and mind, or mind and spirit, but body 
and soul. The terms soul, mind, spirit, or heart, are 
synonymous, or, at least, mean parts of the same thing; 
namely, the immaterial, immortal part of man. It is one 
as the body is one, though composed of various parts 
or faculties. The intellect comprises the faculties of 
reason, judgment, perception, memory, etc.; such as con- 
stitute man a sentient beinof, as distinguish him from the 
lower order of beings. With regard to the intellect we 
remark, it gives man great superiority over all other crea- 
tures. Contemplate man as an infant, at his first entrance 
into the world : he is the most helpless, defenseless of all 
beings. All other animals are provided by nature with 
coverings of wool or fur to protect them from the storm ; 
with instruments for self-defense and to provide for their 
wants ; and have withal a remarkable degree of native 
instinct. Man is destitute of all these ; has no means of 
defense ; no instinct ; is even unconscious of his own 
existence; and, if left to himself, would inevitably perish. 
But "a change comes over the spirit of his dream/' Soon 
he emerges from this helpless, unconscious state. From 
the helpless infant, he becomes the active, sentient youth. 
Mind begins to dawn. From youth he changes to man- 
hood. The powers of intellect, once latent and inactive, 

25* 



294 CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 

are now manifest and active; the world around him is 
no longer unintelligible ; he learns the names and proper- 
ties of things; drinks largely at the fountains of knowl- 
edge ; rises still higher and higher in the scale £>f intelli- 
gence, till, like a Clarke, he stores his mind with the lore 
of ages, or, like a Franklin, dives into the arcana of 
nature, and becomes familiar with her profoundest mys- 
teries; like a Herschel or Dick, leaves these terrestrial 
scenes, and, on the wings of science, soars into infinite 
space ; visits the revolving planets — the worlds hiing in 
air ; admires their harmony ; notes down their magnitude ; 
lingers amid their beauties ; and even pauses to reverently 
adore before the eternal throne of the God of nature. 0, 
to what hights of excellence man may rise ! Contemplate 
a number, a nation of these intellectual beings : from 
infancy they have grown to vigorous manhood, from help- 
lessness to great strength, to absolute dominion over all 
creatures ; even the most powerful, that eould crush 
them in a moment, are made to cower in their presence 
and crouch at their feet ; from ignorance they have risen 
to great knowledge; have sounded all her i( depths and 
shoals;" have become masters of the elements; ride with 
comparative safety upon the mighty ocean ; bound with 
alacrity over her boisterous waves, and visit the most dis- 
tant parts of earth ; have even turned the lightning of 
heaven to their own use ; made it the medium of commu- 
nication between distant points ; have taken away the for- 
ests and wilds of nature, and made the earth to smile 
with the beauties of civilization; and, not content with 
beautifying the physical world and richly storing the mind 
with the knowledge of sublunary things, but, " leaving 
earth at pleasure, they have soared to the skies, intelli- 
gently listened, and gazed far back into the awful depths 
of Deity." By what power have they accomplished these 
wonders, thus exalting themselves above the myriads of 



CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 295 

physically superior beings around them ? By the power of 
the intellect, and that alone. Robbed of this, they would 
grovel in the dust in common with the lowest of animals. 
Here is an important characteristic of man — intellectual 
excellence. He that is destitute of this is shorn of the 
true dignity of a man. 

2. The intellect affords to its possessor true and exalted 
enjoyment — an enjoyment peculiar to man. The ox and his 
kindred tribes may crop the verdant grass, drink from the 
clear stream, and experience a momentary gratification. 
Thus it is with all animal, sensual enjoyment. They may 
look out upon the flowery fields, the lovely forest, starry 
heavens, and all the sublime works of nature ; but to them 
all is unintelligible — affords no delight. Man is not thus 
circumscribed. With a cultivated intellect, he contem- 
plates nature intelligently ; understands her most mysteri- 
ous phenomena. This knowledge is the source of inde- 
scribable delight, exalted enjoyment. Who can fathom 
the enjoyment of the mind that holds intelligent converse 
with nature and science ? In short, he that has a culti- 
vated intellect has found the "philosopher's stone. ,, It 
converts every thing upon which he looks, not into gold, 
but, what is incomparably better, into exalted, continued 
enjoyment. He that is destitute of this source of enjoy- 
ment, who has no pleasure but what is found in gratifying 
the passions, is minus one important characteristic of a 
man, and is in close affinity with the most sordid animal. 

3. The intellect is susceptible of constant and unlimited 
development and progression in knowledge. Many men in 
this world have lived to acquire great strength of intel- 
lect; have made vast acquisitions of knowledge and men- 
tal development ; but no one ever found a terminus to the 
onward growth of his mental powers ; no one could ever 
say he had exhausted the treasures of knowledge ; had 
learned all that mind could acquire or comprehend, Such 



296 CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 

a being would be an anomaly in this world. 'No; the 
intellect is ever expansive. From its early dawn through- 
out all the periods of life, where proper means are em- 
ployed, mind is constantly expanding, growing; is con- 
stantly receiving large draughts from the fountains of 
knowledge, and as constantly increasing its powers. To 
this march of intellect time sets no bounds. Death will not 
arrest it. On the contrary, it will but enhance it. When 
disenthralled from its "prison and its clay," emancipated 
from its earthly bondage and fetters, which have kept it 
in darkness and forbid its rise, the mind, the intellect 
will advance, will expand, with an alacrity unconceived 
by finite thoughts. It is not credulous to believe that the 
mind, in its eternal state, will expand more, gain greater 
and more correct acquisitions of knowledge in one mo- 
ment of time — so to speak — than it does in long years of 
toil in its present state of existence. Nor will eternity set 
bounds to this advance of mind. When millions of its 
measureless cycles have passed, still the mind will be ex- 
panding. The fountains of eternal wisdom will still be 
unexhausted, and the soul enlarging to take in their stores. 
Who can tell what minds may be in eternity? It is not 
inconsistent with intelligent faith to believe that some time 
in the cycles of eternity the sanctified intellect that is now 
most feeble, most ignorant, will arrive at the astonishing 
development and vast acquisitions of the highest intelli- 
gence or inhabitant of the heavenly world. How cheering 
this reflection to the mind now thirsting for pure knowl- 
edge — for intellectual greatness ; but is foiled in all efforts 
by a feeble, languid body 1 How delightful for such to be 
instructed in the school of eternity ! Viewing man thus 
as an intellectual being, how wonderful he is ! and how 
careful ought he to be to secure this excellent character- 
istic ! 

Lastly: we remark, man is a i % eligiou8 being. This 



CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 297 

might be stated differently by saying, he is a moral being ; 
but this term is not expressive enough. To leave man 
with nothing more than morality, even of the highest 
character, is to leave him marred — -robbed of his crown- 
ing excellence. By man's being a religious being, wc 
understand his being like God in the composition of his 
moral nature, and being entirely conformed to the will of 
God in all his actions. This was the crowning character- 
istic of the prototype or common parent of all men. He was 
created in the likeness of God — was created upright; that 
is, was a copy, a transcript, of the divine Mind ; was like 
God; and he had the ability to love God perfectly ; was 
in all things conformed to his will : did as God would have 
him do. But he fell from this exalted state by doing 
what God would not have him do ; was consequently ban- 
ished from God's presence ; spoiled of his upright or god- 
like nature, and disqualified for yielding obedience to his 
will ; but qualified for all disobedience. In this deplorable 
condition by nature are all his children. Now, by man's 
being religious, in his present lapsed condition, we under- 
stand, as the term religo implies, his being re-bound, bound 
back, or restored to his former condition. It is his being 
born again, or re-created in the moral image of God, by 
the power of the Holy Spirit, and receiving, through 
grace, the ability to obey God, to love him supremely, 
and in all things to conform to his holy will. For man to 
be religious in this sense is to bear the restored image or 
likeness of God, and to exhibit in life, in conversation, 
and action, that excellence, that purity and holiness which 
becomes and characterizes a son of God; then, to pass 
from time to eternity, from a world of probation and sin 
to one of perfect freedom and unsullied purity, there to 
shine forever and ever, with increasing glory, among the 
highest ranks of heaven's inhabitants ! 0, what a char- 
acteristic of man is this ! How does it exalt him in the 



298 



CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 



scale of being ! And this is his crowning characteristic. 
Destitute of this, no matter what may be his physical 
superiority, his intellectual excellence, he may seek the 
highest state of intellectual cultivation ; drink largely at 
every fountain of earthly knowledge; pluck the fairest 
flowers of science, and decorat his brow with a wreath 
that a world of scholars might envy. No matter what his 
own moral excellence, he is by nature a child of the devil ; 
his character, in the sight of Heaven, is marred: and 
dying thus, he will launch into eternity, to beam "a wan- 
dering star, to which is reserved the blackness of darkness 
forever." His will be an eternity of rayless, hopeless 
night. Such are some of the characteristics of man. 
To be a man. then, is to be a being of intelligence — of 
intellectual excellence, purity of heart, and uprightness of 
conduct. It is to be a being worth his high origin and 
exalted destiny. It is to be, alas ! what few are who bear 
the title of man! 

II. HOW ARE THESE CHARACTERISTICS OF MAN TO BE IM- 
PROVED OR PARTLY ATTAINED ? 

We come now to notice the practical part of our sub- 
ject; namely, the part that man must act in forming his 
own character; or answer the question, "How is he to 
shew himself a man?" This is a question of thrilling 
interest to every immortal being, but especially to young 
men. Its importance to them is great from the fact that 
young men are very prone to answer it superficially, to 
form improper estimates of what constitutes a man; and, 
if permitted to judge from the conduct of a vast number 
of our young men of the present day, we would think 
their estimate of a man was low indeed. It would seem 
their highest conceptions, their beau ideal of what a young- 
man ought to be, is to wear a fashionable dress, smoke 
cigars, swear, play cards, tipple in the fashionable dram- 
shops, and, in short, be an adept in all the forms of vice 



CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 299 

so prevalent, so popular at the present time. And so 
extensively does this groveling estimate of a man obtain, 
Jiat, go where you will, into any city or village in our 
land, and you meet herds of these idle, starched-up, 
shaggy-faced, addle-headed creatures, who seem to have 
no higher ideas of what they ought to live for than to 
gratify the libidinous passions of a depraved heart. 
Gracious heavens ! what pursuits, what characters for 
rational, accountable beings ! What more calculated to 
make the heart bleed than to see so many young men 
forming characters that will only fit them for shame in 
life and for hell at death! Others there are who have 
scarce a higher destiny for man : it is to be what the 
world calls a man of pleasure. They see no beauty or 
fitness in intelligence ; take no delight in books, in study ; 
no pains in improving their minds or hearts. Their high- 
est aim is to secure personal embellishments, assume a 
false dignity, put on lofty airs, pay deference to all the 
whims and caprices of modern etiquette, and be an expert 
gallant — the master spirit in the ball-room or pleasure 
party. Thus they fritter life away in pursuit of these 
vain baubles. 0, what an ambition is this to animate 
mortal beings ! beings who might be stars in the intel- 
lectual world, blessings to their race, and an honor to 
themselves ! It is an ambition that devils would be 
ashamed of! They would blush deeply to spend their 
time in pursuit of objects so worthless, so contemptible. 
Young man, would you be a man? Then you must set 
your mark higher than this. You must seek intelligence ; 
a cultivated intellect. There are three ways in which 
this can be done: the study of books, intercourse with 
men, and reflection. 1. From books. Not all kinds of 
books. Many, instead of imparting intellectual strength, 
will disorder and effeminate the brightest mind. The lit- 
erary world is deluged at present with just such books, in 



300 CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 

the shape of novels, romances, etc. This may be called 
emphatically the age of novel reading. To have a culti- 
vated mind, you must avoid this trash. As well might 
you think to have a healthy body, fitted for manly exer- 
cise, by feeding on the offal from the shambles, or trash 
from the public sewers and gutters, as to secure a culti- 
vated intellect by studying such productions. We might 
here particularize, but the truth is, you must eschew all 
works of fiction. They will enervate and ruin any mind. 
But we have good books, perhaps a better selection than 
the world ever saw, and in the reach of every one. No 
one can plead want of books as an extenuation of his ig- 
norance and want of intellectual cultivation. No ; the 
general cry is want of time. " We have no time to read ; 
to study. Other duties demand all our attention.' ' This 
may be so ; but before we admit it let us inquire what ob- 
jects in life justly demand all our time and effort, to the 
neglect of improving the mind? Will the desire to adorn 
the body in rich apparel do it? — to hoard up a goodly 
portion of earthly treasure do it? — to secure distinction 
in society and goodly possessions for ourselves and chil- 
dren do it? Surely not. To starve the intellect for any 
of these purposes, is most wicked. Then what will jus- 
tify us in failing to secure this high, this necessary char- 
acteristic of our being? Nothing but absolute necessity. 
If we are so situated that it demands all our time and 
effort to secure an honest livelihood, then we are, to some 
extent, excusable. But how many are thus situated ? How 
many can plead this necessity in extenuation of their want 
of intelligence ? At least young men can not. Let them 
be ever so indigent — ever so much taxed with toil; yet 
they can find time to read, and improve the mind. Let 
them but properly husband their leisure hours, long even- 
ings, Sabbath days, and other time usually spent in idle- 
ness, or in vicious practices, by the perusal of good books. 



CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 301 

The fact that the brightest examples of men in our day — 
those of greatest eminence and usefulness in the cabinet, 
at the bar, and in the pulpit — were once in just such cir- 
cumstances, and have arisen to what they are by their own 
industry, should fire the breast of every young man with 
a laudable ambition to imitate their example. 

2. To be a man intellectually, there must be reflection — 
much thought. One of the worst evils of society, at the 
present time, among the young, is a disposition to drown 
reflection. The youth who mingles freely in society, be- 
comes intoxicated with a spirit of levity — is measurably 
disqualified for sober reflection. Young man, if you 
would have a cultivated mind, you must avoid this. You 
must turn aside from the giddy throngs, shun their frivolous 
amusements, and commune with your own heart. You 
must reflect seriously. Think deeply ; think of your own 
heart ; what you are ; whence and where you are going ; 
what you ought to be. Ten thousand things there are to 
profitably employ your lonely thoughts ; and rest assured 
that never will you have a cultivated mind till you can 
rob time of its loneliness, by holding interesting converse 
with your own heart. From hours of loneliness you must 
derive your richest stores of intellectual excellence. 

3. Observation. Intercourse with society is an essen- 
tial means of intellectual cultivation. No mind was ever 
truly developed merely from the study of books, and re- 
flection. But here, as in the use of books, it is necessary 
to discriminate. Intimate intercourse with all kinds of 
society, is most prejudicial to intellectual improvement. 
There is positively no hope of any young man ever doing 
his duty, in this respect, who mingles promiscuously in all 
grades of society. As well might he think to wallow in 
the mire and not become filthy, as to associate with the 
vulgar and vicious and avoid contracting their habits. If 
you would rise, young man, in true manhood, you must 

26 



302 CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 

avoid the society of the low and vicious. Seek the society 
of the learned, the intelligent, the pious. Let your inti- 
mate companions be few, and all your superiors, so that 
you can learn from them. Attention to this simple rule 
will always make your intercourse with men profitable. 
True, it may subject you to the envious assaults of the 
groveling mass, who would fain have you like themselves ; 
but remember it is always better to bear the contumely of 
fools than to share their folly. 

Lastly. In conclusion, we remark that man should be 
careful to secure his crowning characteristic — religion. 
We do not say, that to be truly a man he must cultivate 
and attain a high state of morality. That is not suffi- 
cient. He must have the image of God reinstamped upon 
his heart, and live in the discharge of those high obliga- 
tions to God and man which morality never taught. In 
short, he must have his depraved, sinful heart changed by 
divine grace, and his life and character adorned by the 
graces of the religion of Jesus Christ. Where, in all the 
annals of biography, will you find a true example of a 
man without religion? How was it with Solomon, to 
whom the words of our text were originally spoken ? He 
had great physical excellence and intellectual superiority — 
had more wisdom and knowledge than all the philoso- 
phers who have lived since his day ; yet his character 
was tarnished: his sun went down in clouds. And why? 
Because he lost the only badge of man's true greatness — 
religion. So it has been with all examples of human 
greatness since his day ; no matter how exalted, how in- 
tellectual, how influential, if destitute of the graces, and 
reckless to the duties of our holy religion, they were des- 
titute of the true characteristics of manhood. If time 
does not fully develop this truth, eternity will. Thus it 
is, thus it will be with all who slight religion ; thus it will 
be with you, young men. You may have every physical 



CHARACTERISTICS AND DUTIES OF MAN. 303 

accomplishment, may make profound researches in science, 
. gain great stores of knowledge, may rise to fame and dis- 
tinction in the irreligious world ; yet, if destitute of relig- 
ion, you will wear, in life, the moral image of Satan, be 
shorn of your true dignity, and, dying thus, your earthly 
greatness will be "a garment too short to hide your moral 
deformity you will be clothed with " shame and ever- 
lasting contempt.' ' 0, you must have religion — must 
have clean hearts and right spirits. You must forsake all 
your sins, be cleansed from them, and made holy. This 
you can not do yourselves. Thank God ! he does not re- 
quire you to do it. He will do it himself; has opened up 
a fountain for sin and uncleanness — the blood of a cruci- 
fied Savior. All he requires of you is to come with bro- 
ken, contrite hearts, with unfeigned sorrow and repentance 
of your sins, and to throw yourselves unreservedly upon 
his mercy. He will receive you, will pardon you, cleanse 
you from all your pollutions, and clothe you with that pu- 
rity and holiness of neart, without which every other ac- 
complishment is worse than nothing. Will you come? 
Will you come nov)? Will you bow those proud knees, 
permit those eyes to weep tears of penitential sorrow, 
those lips to make confession of your sins to God, and 
plead for his pardoning mercy ? Without this your char- 
acter will be incomplete in time and in eternity ; you will 
never find your proper sphere in the society of the other 
world. The Lord inspire you with a laudable ambition to 
fulfill your high destiny ! 



304 



LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 



SEEMON XXIII. 

BY REV. JOSEPH H. CREIGHTON. 

LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 

"The law made nothing perfect, bnt the bringing in of a better hope 
did," Hebrews vn, 19. 

Christian perfection is a subject so high and purely 
spiritual, that we can only arrive at the truth of the doc- 
trine by a careful attention to what is revealed in the 
Scriptures. Words represent ideas ; but some ideas seem 
to be almost indescriptive, so that the best-chosen words 
appear to be equivocal, not that there is any doubt of the 
fact, or any ambiguity in the doctrine itself. 

Some have thought that "perfection" is not the best 
word to express the doctrine, as some other might be as 
applicable, and yet give less offense ; but we think no 
Scripture term should be objected to, whether it be "elec- 
tion" or "perfection," only let us get the true meaning, 
having a conscientious regard for what the Spirit intended. 

We never contended that wherever the word perfection, 
or sanctification, is used in the Scriptures, entire holiness 
of heart and life is meant, though it may be sometimes. 
Neither do we found this great and important doctrine 
upon a few doubtful and isolated texts. 

"The law made nothing perfect," nor did any man 
enjoy Christian perfection till after Christ was glorified, 
the promise of the Father verified, and the holiest of all 
stood unvailed to the victorious faith of all that will seek 
for the "riches of his glory." But the Old Testament 
saints enjoyed a high state of grace, which was even 
called perfection. "The Lord said unto Abraham, walk 
before me, and be thou perfect;" "There was a man in 
the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was 



LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 305 

perfect and upright;" "Noah was a just man, and perfect 
in his generations ; and Noah walked with God." 

The prophets well knew that there would be a brighter 
light, and a greater glory than they had ever seen. Zech- 
ariah says, "He that is feeble among them at that day 
shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as 
God, as the angel of the Lord before them." St. Peter 
says, " Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and 
searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that 
should come unto you: searching what, or what manner 
of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, 
when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the 
glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, 
that not unto themseJves, but unto us they did minister 
the things which are now reported unto you by them that 
have preached the Gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost 
sent down from heaven ; which things the angels desire to 
look into," 1 Peter i, 10-12. 

The glory that should follow the sufferings of Christ 
could not be an outward display, for there was more out- 
ward splendor under the old covenant than the new; 
therefore, it must mean the glory of the Spirit's brighter 
manifestation. Again : Paul shows the internal superior- 
ity of the new covenant in the tenth chapter of Hebrews, 
where he quotes from Jeremiah: "This is the covenant 
that I will make with them after those days, saith the 
Lord ; I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their 
minds will I write them ; and their sins and iniquities will 
I remember no more." And now mark the comment the 
apostle gives on this prophecy: "Now, where remission 
of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having, 
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by 
the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he 
hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, 
the flesh." 

26* 



306 LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 

Again: Christ says that " among them that are born 
of woman, there hath not risen a greater than John the 
Baptist. Notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom 
of heaven is greater than he." From which, it will be 
seen, that though John was "more than a prophet," he 
did not enjoy the clear sunlight of the better covenant — 
the mighty baptisms of the Holy Ghost, new from the ho- 
liest of all — from under no vail — mystified by no cere- 
mony — darkened by no law. But he pointed to it, and 
rejoiced in being permitted to witness the closing day of 
one dispensation, and die amid the dawn of another. But 
his own words are more expressive: "I indeed baptize 
you with water unto repentance ; but He that cometh after 
me is mightier than I : he shall baptize you with the Holy 
Ghost, and with fire." This is such a cardinal point in 
the riches of God's glory, that all the Evangelists insert 
it ; and that it did not take place till Christ was glorified, 
is evident from his own words, when he refers to the same 
glorious blessing just before his ascension: "For John 
truly baptized with water ; but ye shall be baptized with 
the Holy Ghost not many days hence." This is Christ's 
richest gift, even that especially asked of the Father; and 
is a greater blessing than was enjoyed by those who had 
the personal teachings and company of the Savior while 
on earth; for he says, "I will ask the Father, and he will 
give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you 
forever ; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world can not 
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: 
but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be 
in you," etc. Therefore, we conclude, that though the 
law could not make the comers thereunto evangelically 
perfect, being weak through the flesh, yet the glorious 
Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation, can 
make us perfect and complete in all the will of God. 

From what we have now stated, it may be seen that 



LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 307 

Christian maturity is far above that of the Jews ; and no 
one will expect us to prove that it is below the perfection 
of the saints in heaven. 

We are now prepared to state the doctrine more partic- 
ularly. 

1. Negatively. It is not absolute perfection; for that 
only belongs to God. It is not Adamic, angelic, or of the 
glorified saints in heaven ; for that is not the subject under 
consideration. It is not a perfection in knowledge, wis- 
dom, or power ; for these are not necessary to entire pu- 
rity, and were not enjoyed by Adam or the angels. It is 
not a perfection that carries us beyond peccability ; neither 
are we to be in a state from which we can not fall. Adam 
was sinless, and yet was tempted and fell. Christ was 
tempted ; and an angel fell. It is not a perfection wherein 
we can not grow more ; for although a man is entirely 
emptied of sin, he may be more and more filled with love, 
and the knowledge of the glory of God in this world, and 
that which is to come. 

Now, if any man places the standard of Christian per- 
fection higher than this, let him not say, the Methodists so 
teach. But, 

2. Positively. It is to love the Lord with all the heart, 
soul, mind, and strength. It is to be emptied of all sin. 
It is to dwell in God, and to have him dwell in us. It is 
that glorious state prayed for in the third chapter of Ephe- 
sians: ' ' That he would grant you, according to the riches 
of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit 
in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts 
by faith ; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may 
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, 
and length, and depth, and hight ; and to know the love 
of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled 
with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able 
to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, 



308 LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 

according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be 
glory in the Church," etc. It is a deeper work than jus- 
tification, and subsequent to it, as we may infer from what 
St. Paul says to the Corinthian brethren — who surely en- 
joyed the blessing of justification — " Having, therefore, 
these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves 
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holi- 
ness in the fear of God." Again : when Paul is speaking 
of babes in Christ, he says, "Let us go on unto perfec- 
tion," etc. 

It is, ordinarily, a gradual work, as well as instantane- 
ous. It begins with regeneration, and advances, not as 
we grow in years, but as we mortify the deeds of the 
body, and increase in faith, and become more and more 
transformed into the image of Christ. This will not be 
disputed. But is it an instantaneous work ? I answer, if 
it is not instantaneous, it is not at all ; for if there is not 
an instant when sin ceases, it must continue. This is one 
of the most important features of the doctrine. We 
should set it before the mind as a mark, on Scripture au- 
thority, definitely to be sought for, with a rational expec- 
tation of success, the instant we have the faith. There is 
no point that Mr. Wesley guards better than this, in the 
numerous places where he treats of it. He says, "If any 
speak otherwise, he is the person that brings new doctrine 
among us." 

The doctrine now being stated, we proceed to notice the 
Scripture grounds on which it is founded, and decide some 
questions at issue. 

h It is commanded: in the first and great command- 
ment, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, soul, mind, and strength;" "Be ye, therefore, per- 
fect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect;" 
"Put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness ;" 
44 Awake to righteousness, and sin not." 



LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 309 

2. It is promised. God's commands are never higher 
than his promises ; for though we are commanded to love 
him with all our hearts, here is a promise corresponding 
in greatness: "And the Lord thy God will circumcise thy 
heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou 
mayest live." Again: "If we confess our sins, he is 
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us 
from all unrighteousness ;" "He is able to save them to 
the uttermost that come unto God by him." 

3. It is the subject of inspired prayer. "Thy will be 
done in earth, as it is heaven," [perfectly;] "Neither 
pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe 
on me through their word ; that they all may be one ; as 
thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may 
be one in us ; I in them and thou in me, that they may be 
made perfect in one." Paul bowed his knees to God and 
prayed, not only that the Ephesians might be strengthened 
by his mighty Spirit, but that they might be filled with all 
the fullness of God. What God fills can not contain sin 
of any kind. "The very God of peace sanctify you 
wholly ; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and 
body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ." This text is very clear, being an inspired 
prayer followed by a promise no less inspired. But some 
will say that this prayer is only to be answered at death ; 
to which we answer, that, then he prayed for the preserva- 
tion of the dead — "preserve you blameless" — which is 
not reasonable. Others say that we have sinful bodies 
and carnal minds ; that, though we be sanctified, in some 
sense we are sinful till death. But the text says, wholly, 
soul, body, and spirit, and that is all there is of a man ; 
then preserved in that state "blameless," which must be 
without sin ; for sin is blamable. 

We now proceed to notice some objections that are 



310 LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 

very frequently, and by different persons, urged against 
the doctrine. 

Paul's experience — so called — in the seventh of Ro- 
mans, is one of the first and strongest objections we hear : 
*fl am carnal, sold under sin;" "When I would do 
good, evil is present;" "In captivity to the law of sin;" 
" 0, wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death?" 

The first inquiry to be made here is, what is the subject 
in these three chapters ? I think any one will agree that 
it is the superiority of the Gospel over the law, or freedom 
from the law by the body of Christ — salvation, by grace, 
through faith, and its glorious privileges, in contradistinc- 
tion to the law of carnal commandments, "which could 
never make the comers thereunto perfect." "The law 
made nothing [no persons] perfect, but the bringing in of 
a better hope did." The doctrine is first clearly stated in 
the sixth chapter. "What shall we say then? Shall we 
continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid! 
how shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer 
therein? . . . Our old man is crucified with him, that the 
body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should 
not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. . . . 
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto 
sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body. . . . 
For sin shall not have dominion over you : for ye are not 
under the law, but under grace. . . . Being, then, made 
free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." 

After stating the doctrine of freedom from sin, he antic- 
ipates and answers any that might yet adhere to the law ; 
for no common reason would make them leave the estab- 
lished religion. He gives the law of husband and wife 
as an illustration. The woman is bound to the husband 
as long as he lives, and no longer. They were bound to 



LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 311 

the law of Moses as long as it lived ; but when the better 
. hope was brought in, they became dead to the law by the 
body of Christ. Now he describes their state under the 
law: " For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sin, 
which were by the law, did work by our members to bring 
forth fruit unto death," verse 5; and, in the next verse, 
contrasts it with the deliverance of the soul: " But now 
we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein 
we were held ; that we should serve in newness of spirit, 
and not in the oldness of the letter." But does he not 
use the present tense as well as the past ? He does ; but 
it was under the same subject, and was a manner of 
speech common to the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, when 
the intention was only to highten the sense and give 
energy to the language ; the apostle not intending to in- 
clude himself in his present state any more than did St. 
James include himself when speaking of the tongue : 
" Therewith bless we God, and therewith curse we men." 
And if these texts must be applied to Paul, they will con- 
tradict others, of whose meaning there is no dispute. We 
propose, therefore, to contrast those others found in the 
same chapters, and for the sake of perspicuity we will fix 
the word "law" to the former, and "better hope" to 
the latter. 

Law. "But sin, taking occasion by the command- 
ment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence," verses 
7, 8. 

Better hope, f* Let not sin, therefore, reign in your 
mortal body," verses 6-12. "For sin shall not have 
dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but 
under grace." 

Law. " For we know that the law is spiritual ; but I 
am carnal, sold under sin." 

Better hope. "To be carnally-minded is death ; but 
to be spiritually-minded is life and peace ; because the 



312 LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 

carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to 
the law of God, neither indeed can be." 

Law. ' 'For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, 
dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me, 
but how to perform that which is good, I find not ; for the 
good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would 
not, that I do." 

Better hope. " For when we were in the flesh, the 
motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our 
members, to bring forth fruit unto death." " But now we 
are delivered from the law," etc. " But now being made 
free from sin," etc. 

Law. " Now, if I do that I would not, it is no more I 
that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." 

Better hope. " Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead 
indeed unto sin, but alive unto God," etc. 

Law. " I find then a law, that when I would do good, 
evil is present with me." 

Better hope. " For what the law could not do, in that 
it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son 
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin 
in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be 
fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the 
Spirit." 

Law. " But I see another law in my members, warring 
against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captiv- 
ity to the law of sin, which is in my members.' 9 

Better hope. " For the law of the spirit of life in 
Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and 
death." 

Law. " 0, wretched man that I am! who shall deliver 
me from the body of this death?" 

Better hope. " Knowing this, that our old man is cru- 
cified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, 
that henceforth we should not serve sin." 



LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 313 

Very many other clear texts might be quoted ; but we 
choose to take none but from these disputed chapters, that 
they may be seen in contrast. Many persons have fol- 
lowed the Calvinistic interpretation of these chapters, 
from the impression made on their minds by hearing them 
constantly quoted in that way, or that meaning always 
attached to them, without considering the subject or com- 
paring chapters and verses. The most striking contradic- 
tion in their interpretation is in the twenty-third verse of 
the seventh chapter, compared with the second verse of the 
eighth chapter. Who can believe that the great apostle 
Paul was a captive — slave — to sin, while in the next chap- 
ter he says, " The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus 
hath made me free from the law of sin and death ?" How 
could a man live under a law that had made him free, and 
yet, by that same law, be a sold captive? Even Dr. 
Stewart, though a Calvinist, tells us, in his Commentary, 
that the being brought into captivity to the law of sin is a 
military phrase, and means the most absolute bondage, 
being controlled entirely by the captor. " This/' says he, 
4 'is too strong to be applied to the apostle, though he uses 
the pronoun me; and especially when we compare it with 
the twenty-third verse of the eighth chapter." 

Galatians v, 17, is often quoted as proof against free- 
dom from sin: " The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and 
the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one 
to the other, so that ye can not do the things that ye 
would." This text does not apply to Christians at all, 
as any one may see by reading the verse before it and a 
few after it: " But if ye bite and devour one another, 
take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This 
I say, then, Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the 
lusts of the flesh.' ' 

Now, read a few verses after, and then, if you will per- 
sist in applying that text to Christians, "by their fruits 

27 



314 LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 

ye shall know them: " " But if ye be led by the Spirit, ye 
are not under the law. Now, the works [or fruits] of the 
flesh are manifest, which are these : adultery, fornication, 
uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, 
variance, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, en- 
vyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like/' 
What spirit must such Christians be of, if the above is a 
true description of their fruits ! Not of Christ, surely ; 
for, in this same chapter, we have the true fruits of those 
who are really Christians, yea, in the very next verse, 
and that connected by a disjunctive conjunction: " But 
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering," 
etc.; " And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, 
with the affections and lusts.'' 

Again: it is said, "As it is written, There is none 
righteous, no, not one." Written where? In the four- 
teenth Psalm. And what else is written in that Psalm, 
yea, in that same verse? "The fool hath said in his 
heart, There is no God." But Paul quotes it; and what 
for ? Let him speak for himself, Romans iii, 10-16 : " There 
is none righteous, no, not one ; there is none that under - 
standeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are 
all gone out of the way, they are together become un- 
profitable : there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 
Their throat is an open sepulcher ; with their tongues 
they have used deceit ; the poison of asps is under their 
lips : whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness : their 
feet are swift to shed blood : destruction and misery are 
In their ways." Surely this is quoted to prove the total 
depravity of the wicked, and not the present state of all 
those that have "passed from death unto life." But, lest 
some will still contend for the universal application of this 
text to saint and sinner, we will accumulate our testimony 
both from the Old and New Testament: " The Lord said 
unto Noah, Thee have I seen righteous before me in this 



LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 315 

generation," Genesis vii, 1. It is said of Zacharias and 
Elizabeth, "And they were both righteous before God, 
walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the 
Lord blameless," Leviticus i, 6. Abel obtained witness 
that he was "righteous ." Peter mentions Lot's "right- 
eous 19 soul. Many more might be added. 

Again: it is said, "No man liveth and sinneth not." 
The Scriptures say no such thing. The true reading is, 
" For there is no man which sinneth not." This is in the 
permissive or optative mood, as may be inferred from the 
first clause, " If they sin against thee :" the true sense is, 
" There is no man that may not sin." So our translators 
understood it, and rendered other passages accordingly, 
even the thirty-first verse of this same chapter, "If a 
man trespass." But if we admit the most literal inter- 
pretation of this text, it will have no weight in disproving 
the doctrine of Christian perfection. What if there was 
not a man in Solomon's day that lived without sin, does 
that fix the standard for the whole New Testament Church ? 
Hear John's testimony: " Whosoever is born of God doth 
not commit sin ;" " Whosoever committeth sin is of the 
devil." But Solomon says, " There is not a just man 
upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not." Perhaps 
not at that particular time ; but there were some before 
and many after. Proof: " Noah was a, just man, and per- 
fect in his generation;" Joseph, John, Simeon, Cornelius, 
and Lot are called just, in the New Testament. 

Again: 1 John i, 8, "If we say we have no sin, we 
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." We have 
often heard this eighth verse quoted as a capital proof 
text in favor of inbred sin in believers, yea, in John him- 
self. But surely it is a great discerption of language ; 
for you never hear them quote the verse before it or the 
one after it, in connection * no, hardly on the same day 
of the week; for the seventh or ninth would positively 



316 LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 

contradict that interpretation. What is the subject, in this 
chapter, but the blood of Christ, instead of the ceremonial 
sacrifices. Now, let us read this text in connection, begin- 
ning with the seventh verse: "If we walk in the light, 
as he [Christ] is in the light, we have fellowship one 
with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son 
cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, 
[to be cleansed from,'] we deceive ourselves, and the truth 
is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and 
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- 
righteousness.' ■ Many of the persons to whom John 
wrote did not believe that they had sin to be cleansed 
from; especially the Jews, who trusted in the sacrifices of 
the law. How natural, then, for John to anticipate that 
objection to his doctrine, as he did in the eighth and tenth 
verses: "If we say we have no sin;" "If we say we 
have not sinned.' ' Therefore, instead of teaching that 
they must continue in sin, he declared that, although they 
had sin, the blood of Christ would cleanse them from it. 
But why does he use the word "we," if he does not 
include himself? Because it was customary in those 
times, as it is yet, to use the pronoun, first person, when 
the speaker is not included in the sense, but merely in the 
form of expression, as we have already mentioned in the 
case of St. James. We have but one remark to make on 
this objection, and that by way of interrogation. What 
more could the devil do for his kingdom than persuade 
Christians that they can not live without sin? On the 
other hand, what more for Christ's kingdom can be done 
than to persuade men to "awake to righteousness, and sin 
not? 99 This is the object of St. John in his epistles. 
Hence he says, "These things write I unto you, that you 
sin not. 99 

Again : if we were cleansed from all sin, what would 
become of Christian warfare? According to this notion, 



LAW AND BETTER HOPE CONTRASTED. 317 

a little sin is necessary to "fight the good fight of faith, 
and to lay hold on eternal life." A fort that would con- 
tend successfully must have some of the enemy within. 
Strange doctrine, to say nothing of the logic ! Who is so 
easy led captive by the devil at his will as he that has 
sin in his heart? On the other hand, who goes forth 
more than clad in coat of mail, his eye flashing terror and 
his hand dealing death to his foe at every onset? The 
pure in heart. 0, that all the Church of God might be 
delivered from that weakening, stupefying, soul-deceiving, 
devil-pleasing, God-dishonoring monster, sin ! Who will 
plead for it? Though Satan may be transformed into an 
angel of light, it will be more difficult to show that sin is 
necessary to Christian warfare. 

Again : if a man is perfect, how can he grow any more ? 
This objection is easily disposed of by reference to another 
doctrine that is held by all orthodox denominations — total 
depravity. Who would say that a man who is totally 
depraved is as bad as he can be, or that he can grow no 
more in sin? 

Finally : it is said that no one in the Scriptures professed 
the blessing. But John and others could and did say, 
" Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have bold- 
ness in the day of judgment.' 1 " But," says the objector, 
" that is not till after death." We answer that the re- 
maining part of the verse shows that it is before death : 
"Because as he is so are we in this world." Again: 
"God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." 
Again : " We rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of 
glory." These are as clear professions as are necessary 
for the good of believers, and farther than this was not 
intended. God delights to astonish his creatures with the 
glorious manifestations of himself. Who, therefore, will 
cry to God, ** Show me thy glory?" 

27* 



318 



LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JOSEPH. 



SEKMON XXIV. 

BY PEARL P. ItfGALS. 
LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JOSEPH. 
I. The life of Joseph is embraced in three periods of 

TIME. 

1. Joseph was born in Padan Aram, seventeen hundred 
and forty-five years before Christ. He was six years old 
when his father Jacob returned to his own country. His 
mother died, and was buried in the way from Bethel to 
Bethlehem — a good place to die! She journeyed from 
Bethel, "the house of God," and looked toward Bethle- 
hem, the future scene of our Lord's advent. Joseph was 
"seventeen years old" when his estimable character, 
securing, as it did, the affection of his father, together 
with the visions which God gave him, spread before him 
promises of the future. Jacob felt some solicitude for his 
sons, and said to Joseph, " Go, I pray thee, see whether it 
be well with thy brethren." He went; and when he did 
not find them where he expected, he persevered till he did 
find them. While in this manner giving evidence of his 
worthy character as son and brother, his brethren, "moved 
with envy," sold him, for twenty pieces of silver, to a 
company of Ishmaelite merchants, who were going down 
to Egypt. 

2. The second period of his history commenced with his 
being bought by Potiphar, who was, probably, the chief 
officer of Pharaoh, King of Egypt. For two years the 
Lord prospered him greatly, and blessed the house of Pot- 
iphar for his sake. When Potiphar saw this, he "made 
him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put 
into his hand." By the shameful calumny of his mistress 



LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JOSEPH. 319 

he was cast into prison. In Canaan he had preludes of 
future greatness. And now, in this instance of virtuous 
integrity, there was a pledge, an indubitable assurance of 
his ultimate, his best destinies. And as, in the last test 
of Abraham's faith, Heaven was satisfied, so now, in rela- 
tion to Joseph's character, God could have said, "Now I 
know that thou fearest me," since thou hast not failed to 
regard thyself, thy master, and thy God. He was cast 
into prison ; but God was with him ; and from thence he 
rose to dominion over Egypt. This period of his life 
embraced nearly twelve years. 

3. The third period commenced with his standing in 
authority before Pharaoh, at thirty years of age, and em- 
braced eighty years of prosperity. "And Joseph died, 
being a hundred and ten years old." His name was sig- 
nificant — encouraging the remark, that "from human 
nature Joseph has taken away much reproach." It fur- 
ther signifies, "future favors and prosperity." 

II. The characteristics of Joseph's heart and life. 

1. His filial affection. To this the Scriptures attach 
great importance. The first commandment with a promise 
is, " Honor thy father and thy mother." This duty and 
obedience to God are intimately associated; so that the 
latter can not be without the former ; and where the first 
is the latter is likely to be. Joseph's filial character is 
traced in relation to his father ; for he was young when his 
mother died. When Rachel died Jacob loved Joseph 
more than all his children. The father's affection was 
warmly reciprocated. Joseph's obedience was prompt 
and cheerful: "Here am I." He had been absent 
from his father twenty-two years, when his brethren 
appeared before him in Egypt. " Joseph knew his breth- 
ren, but they knew not him." His inquiry was, " Is your 
father yet alive?" The second time he inquired, "Is 
your father well? The old man of whom you spake, is 



320 



LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JOSEPH. 



he yet living ?" When he tested their feelings, who had 
sold him, by detaining Benjamin through stratagem, Judah 
entreated him for his brother: " His brother is dead, and 
he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him." 
He then recounts the reflections of his father when they 
took Benjamin away. He loved the two sons of Rachel: 
" The one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn 
in pieces, and I saw him not since. And if ye take this 
also from me, and mischief befall him, ye will bring down 
my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." It was more 
than Joseph could resist. A merciful Providence had 
vailed from his meditations the feelings of that father; 
but now they break in upon his mind; his will gives way; 
the great deep of his heart is broken up ; his father's 
name and his father's words are in the entreaties of Judah. 
" Joseph wept aloud;" made himself known; and the 
first inquiry, with his heart full and his eyes weeping, 
was, "Doth my father yet live?" He hastened to have 
him brought down; went to meet him; "fell upon his 
neck and wept a good while ;" he provided for his comfort 
in Goshen ; watched by his death-bed ; embalmed his 
body; and mourned seventy days. Then, with the 
"elders of Israel, servants of Pharaoh, chariots and 
horsemen, a very great company," he proceeded to 
Canaan, and buried his father in the grave of Machpelah, 
where Abraham was buried. Doubtless, while there, he 
meditated upon the providence of God, the predictions 
made to Abraham, and then returned to his duties in 
Egypt. 

2. The early piety of Joseph. This we infer from the 
fact that God graciously manifested himself, and revealed 
the future to Joseph in his youth. From that time his 
faith neveMailed him. There was evidence of calm resig- 
nation in all his troubles.. When in the deep pit, with the 
prospect before him of death by cold and hunger, without 



LIFE A2s T D CHARACTER OF JOSEPH. 



321 



doubt he prayed, and trusted in God. When carried for- 
ward as merchandise of the Ishmaelites, he journeyed 
by faith. There were particular and wonderful interven- 
tions of Providence in his advancements. But the ele- 
ments of his prosperity were found in his early piety, and 
his regard for his father. This shows the basis of his 
uniformity of character, and without which uniformity in 
goodness is scarcely secured. There is a point beyond 
youth, in the lives of many persons, at which they turn 
and pursue a truly Christian course. Then all pure prin- 
ciples which they have cherished will come to their aid, 
and fortify their position. There may have been a wild- 
ness in the youth ; but if it has not been identified with 
the vile, it will pass away as the morning cloud. Where 
youth has submitted to the base and vile, whatever may 
be future attainments in grace, there is yet an abiding 
danger. In some of the Scripture histories of righteous 
men, we find foibles and errors ; and we may well exclaim, 
"0, their youth! their youth !" It is not so with the 
history of Samuel: "And the child Samuel ministered 
unto the Lord before Eli." The most perilous act of 
Obadiah's life showed that his firmness was built up like 
a strong tower. It was when he hid from their enemies 
one hundred of the Lord's prophets, and fed them. He 
accounts for that firmness when he says, "I, thy servant, 
fear the Lord from my youth" The same is true of 
Daniel, Timothy, and many others ; and the least of this 
number is not Joseph. 

3. The most noble magnanimity of Joseph. He occupied 
a high position in all moral excellence, as is evidenced by 
his humility, clemency, and moral heroism. In humility 
he is an example. "Joseph was a goodly person and 
well-favored;" "beautiful in his person and beautiful in 
his countenance;" but he had also a good mind, and 
feared God. He possessed the highest honors of a people 



322 



LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JOSEPH. 



in whose sight "every shepherd was an abomination/' 
His friends came to him in that character, and he was not 
ashamed of his ancestry, his kindred, or the home of his 
youth. 

His clemency was altogether unique, and without a 
precedent. Soon as he had made himself known to his 
brethren, he hastened to soothe their troubled minds : 
" And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold 
into Egypt ; now, therefore, be not grieved nor angry with 
yourselves that ye sold me hither." He assured them 
that God, in his providence, had arranged it all well. 
After the death of Jacob, they feared that Joseph would 
requite them all the evil they did him, and entreated him 
to forgive. He answered them, "I will nourish you and 
your little ones ; and he comforted them and spake kindly 
unto them." 

" How beautifully falls from human lips 
That blessed word, Forgive /" 

Consider his moral integrity and intrepidity. Tempta- 
tion, with all the aid of a degraded condition, could not 
overcome him. Not three years before, he was associated 
with his father's family — a distinguished family; now he 
had been sold for twenty pieces of silver, and was a slave 
in the house of Potiphar. He had been made a common 
commodity of trade, like an article of merchandise, or a 
dumb beast. But all the change of circumstances could 
not bring down the moral greatness of his soul. Clam- 
orous entreaty besieged him when the walls of his protec- 
tion seemed leveled by the degradation of his bondage ; 
but he would not bow to take upon him the cloak of in- 
famy. Dr. Durbin says of him, " The most favored, most 
generous, most continent of men." 

III. The enemies of Joseph. 

1. His ten brethren were his enemies. In the beginning 
of their enmity "they hated him, and could not speak 



LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JOSEPH. 



323 



peaceably unto him." They designed his death. At the 
suggestion of Reuben, they cast him into a git, that he 
might perish with hunger: "And they sat down to eat 
bread." Reuben thought to save him. It was a contri- 
vance of Judah to have him sold. Twenty-two years 
after this these brethren appeared before Joseph, begging 
bread. 

Joseph treated them as spies, retained Simeon a pris- 
oner, and required them to bring their youngest brother. 
When they came, and Benjamin with them, he had them 
dine at his own house ; and when he arranged the table in 
the order of his father's house, they greatly " marveled.' ' 
After they had left, he had them brought back, it appear- * 
ing that Benjamin had stolen his "silver cup." Now, it 
seemed that Joseph wished to try them, to know whether 
they did regard their father and Benjamin ; for how could 
he have confidence in them who had sold him a slave, and 
permitted their father to mourn, with the image of Joseph 
torn to pieces by wild beasts before his eyes, for twenty- 
two years ? He could not have confidence till he tried 
them, which he did most severely. 

Joseph did not afflict his brethren with a retaliative 
spirit. He took no pleasure in their troubles, but felt the 
tenderest sympathy for them. When they stood before 
him the first time, chiding themselves, "he turned him- 
self about from them, and wept." When they came before 
him with Benjamin, "his mother's son," he said, "Is this 
your younger brother of whom you spake unto me ? And 
he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son ! And 
Joseph made haste ; for his bowels did yearn upon his 
brother : and he sought where to weep ; and he entered 
into his chamber, and wept there." Who can look upon 
Joseph and not think of him who "doth not afflict will- 
ingly?" 

2. Joseph had one hideous enemy. Infamy, deep and 



324 



LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JOSEPH. 



dreadful infamy, the lot of all such, has spread its dark 
mantle over her life. 

IV. The distinguished honors and privileges to 
which Joseph attained. 

1 . God honored him with the spirit of prophecy in the 
interpretation of visions. The first was for the chief butler 
and baker in prison. Pharaoh was warned of God in 
visions of the night. He sent for all the magicians of Egypt 
and all the wise men thereof; but there were none who 
could interpret his dreams. Joseph was honored by being 
able to confound the then most profound wisdom of the 
world. 

2. From this he rose to preferment in the kingdom. Pha- 
raoh placed upon him ensigns of royalty; "took off his 
ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, 
arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, put a gold chain 
about his neck, made him to ride in the second chariot 
which he had ; and they cried before him, Bow the knee ; 
and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.' ' The 
Psalmist says of Joseph, " Whose feet they hurt with 
fetters ; the iron came into his soul ; the word of the Lord 
tried him, till the king loosed him, and made him lord of 
his house, and ruler of his possessions : to bind his princes 
at pleasure, and teach his senators wisdom." That coun- 
try where he had authority was Egypt : " Most renowned 
school of antiquity for wisdom and politics. The illus- 
trious men and legislators of Greece sought to complete 
their studies there." In that country — then the most dis- 
tinguished in the world — Joseph was next to the king in 
authority. 

3. Joseph and his family were highly favored. He 
married the daughter of a priest. The priests in Egypt 
held the second rank to kings. His two sons were 
Ephraim and Manasseh ; so named, the first because 
Joseph had <c forgotten his toil and affliction ;" the last. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S POSSESSIONS. 



325 



because "God had prospered him." By faith, Jacob, 
when he was dying, blessed both these sons, giving them 
a place among the twelve patriarchs, "making them equal 
in all the temporal and spiritual blessings of the cove- 
nant." This honor, conferred upon the family of Joseph, 
may be traced in the division of the promised land. 

4. And now his work in Egypt is accomplished. The 
duties of the great legislator, the son, the brother are fin- 
ished. His settlement with Time is made. He contem- 
plates the future, the immortality of the soul, and the res- 
urrection of the dead. "By faith, Joseph, when he died, 
gave commandment concerning his bones." His body 
was removed from Egypt by Moses. He now rests in 
Shechem ; but he will not sleep long. The night of death 
will, to the body, seem short. When you awake from a 
calm sleep, the night seems brief. A thousand years will 
be to the happy dead as one day. Joseph will arise and 
pass, as if immediately, from his high and good career, in 
this life, to the rewards of heaven. 



SEEMON XXV. 

BY REV. WILLIAM YOUNG, 

THE CHRISTIAN'S POSSESSIONS. 

u Therefore let no man glory in men : for all things are yours ; whether 
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things pres- 
ent, or things to come; all are yours," 1 Corinthians m, 21, 22. 

Never was there a man more fully divested of motives 
of personal aggrandizement than was Paul, the great 
"apostle of the Gentiles." Had he aimed at any thing 
like this, ample opportunity served to gratify his ambition, 

28 



326 



THE CHRISTIAN'S POSSESSIONS. 



On the contrary, he studiously sought not his own, but 
his " Master's glory." The grand motto of his Christian 
and ministerial life was, "God forbid that I should glory, 
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ ; by whom the 
world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." What 
he did not tolerate in himself he deemed inadmissible in 
others, to whom he ministered, and over whom "he 
watched as those who must give an account." Hence 
the text: "Therefore let no man glory in men," etc. We 
shall attempt a brief, practical discourse upon the subject- 
matter of the text, as follows : 

L We shall notice the evil against which St. Paul 

HERE GUARDS THE MEMBERS OF THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH. 

"Let no man glory in men." To glory in men simply 
means to boast in, to be proud of men. There were 
those, in this Church, who thus gloried in their ministers. 
They did this 

1 . By awarding them that degree of deference which be- 
longs to God only. This we infer from a reprimand which 
Paul gives them in the first chapter of this epistle: "Is 
Christ divided, or was Paul crucified for you?" "God is 
a jealous God; his glory will he not give to another." 
The Church, it is true, should properly respect and love 
her ministers. This the author of the text elsewhere spe- 
cifically enjoins: "We beseech you, brethren, to know 
them which labor among you, and are over you in the 
Lord, and tcr esteem them very highly for their work's 
sake." To do this is both rational and religious. An en- 
lightened and holy ministry is an invaluable blessing to 
the Church, and also to the world. They should, how- 
ever, be esteemed as men — as ministers of Christ — not as 
superhuman beings; not as gods. "We have this treas- 
ure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power 
may be of God, and not of us ;" "We, also, are men of like 
passions with you." It is the assumption of this claim of 



THE CHRISTIAN'S POSSESSIONS. 



327 



undue deference that forms one of the distinguishing traits 
of the character of Antichrist, against whom stands re- 
corded the blighting curse of heaven: "Who opposeth and 
exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is 
worshiped j so that he as God sitteth in the temple of 
God, showing himself that he is God." And the Church, 
or the world, by awarding such an impious claim, rob 
God of his glory, pervert the institution of the ministry, 
and incur the charge of idolatry. "Render unto God the 
things that are God's;" "Make not the arm of flesh your 
trust;" "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." 

2. By extravagantly overrating the talents of some, and 
by disrespectfully undervaluing the talents of others. Paul, 
as a preacher, was a clear, cogent, and profound logician. 
Apollos "was an eloquent man and mighty in the Scrip- 
tures." Cephas, or Peter, was a "Boanerges" — a bold, 
zealous, and powerful declaimer. Some of the Corinth- 
ian Church were extravagant in their awards to Paul ; 
so much so as to elicit from that holy man a kind, but 
prompt rebuke: "Were ye baptized in the name of 
Paul?" "My speech and my preaching was not with en- 
ticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of 
the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand 
in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." Others 
of this Church were in raptures with the eloquent efforts 
of Apollos. Among this class, perhaps, were those who 
spoke deridingly of Paul, thus: "For his letters," say 
they, " are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence 
is weak and his speech contemptible." A third class in 
this Church greatly applauded Peter, and, perhaps, cared 
but little about either the logic of Paul or the eloquence 
of Apollos, so that they might but enjoy the soul-stirring, 
overwhelming discourses of this "son of thunder." It 
is very natural, and, to a prudent extent, admissible, that 
the members of the Church should entertain partialities 



328 



THE CHRISTIAN S POSSESSIONS. 



in reference to their ministers. Many causes conspire to 
effect these, and it would be improper to attempt to sup- 
press them entirely. But when the spirit of partiality is 
carried to the extent to which it seems to have been car- 
ried in the Corinthian Church, it becomes offensive in the 
sight of God, embarrassing to the ministry, and detri- 
mental to the prosperity of the cause of religion. 

3. By arraying themselves against each other for the sake 
of their leaders, thus producing factions in the Church. 
This the apostle alleges against them in the preceding 
context: ' 'For it hath been declared unto me of you, my 
brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that 
there were contentions among you. Now this I say, that 
every one of you saith, I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I 
am of Cephas, and I am of Christ/ ' Their extravagant 
partialities very naturally engendered these factions, which 
seem to have existed among them to an extent that seri- 
ously affected their claims to the Christian character: 
"For whereas there is envying and strife among you, are 
ye not carnal, and walk as men?" They had well-nigh 
lost sight of the Creator in the creature. Some, indeed, 
separated Christ from all these: "I am of Christ." This 
was also improper. "Is Christ divided?" "What God 
hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Minis- 
ters of themselves are not "sufficient for these things;" 
their "sufficiency is of God." "Who, then, is Paul, and 
who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even 
as the Lord gave to every man ? I have planted, Apollos 
watered, but God gave the increase;" "Therefore let no 
man glory in men;" otherwise the cause of religion will 
be injured more or less, as the ends of a faction will al- 
ways be consulted in preference to the general good of 
the whole. Brethren, let us "walk by the same rule, and 
mind the same things," and "keep the unity of the Spirit 
in the bonds of peace." 



THE CHRISTIAN'S POSSESSIONS. 



II. We SHALL NOTICE THE GOOD WHICH St. PAUL DE- 
CLARES IS GUARANTEED TO THE CORINTHIAN CHRISTIANS IN 
VIRTUE OF THEIR UNION WITH CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH. 

"For all things are yours." This good is given in de- 
tail. 

1. All the ministry are yours, "whether Paul, or Apollos, 
or Cephas." Our blessed Lord, in the order of his prov- 
idence and grace, supplies his Church, on earth, with the 
ministry of the word. It is his prerogative alone to do 
this, "and no man taketh this honor unto himself but he 
that was called of God, as was Aaron." This supply of 
the ministry is wisely adapted to every peculiarity and ex- 
igency in the Church. "Wherefore, as he saith, when he 
ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave 
gifts unto men. And he gave some apostles ; and some 
prophets ; and some evangelists ; and some pastors and 
teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of 
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." 
Men of various peculiarities of talent, of different degrees 
of ministerial abilities, are called, commissioned, and sent 
forth to serve the Church : all, however, with the same 
view — "for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of 
the body of Christ." Some may be more particularly 
benefited by the labors of Paul, others by the labors of 
Apollos, and a third class by the labors of Cephas ; yet 
they are all the property of the Church — "ourselves your 
servants for Jesus' sake." The services of all are neces- 
sary to the interests of the work ; and if the Church will 
love and pray for them, by the blessing of God, they will 
all be made to contribute more or less to her prosperity. 
God sends "by the hand of him whom" he will send. 
It matters not how humble and unpretending may be the 
abilities of many who are thus sent by him; if faithful, 
"their labor shall not be in vain in the Lord." God will 
make them instrumental in the awakening and conversion 

28* 



330 



THE CHRISTIAN'S POSSESSIONS. 



of sinners, and in building up believers in the principles 
of the faith. "God hath chosen the foolish things of the 
world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the 
weak things of the world to confound the things that are 
mighty ; and base things of the world, and things which 
are despised, hath God chosen ; yea, and things which are 
not to bring to naught things that are ; that no flesh 
should glory in his presence." 

2. The world is yours. If by the term world here is 
meant the people of the world, in which sense it often oc- 
curs in the Scriptures, it would seem that not only the 
ministry, but men in general, are held under contribu- 
tion to subserve the interests of the Church. "But as 
for you, ye thought evil against me," said Joseph to 
his brethren, who sold him into bondage : " God meant 
it unto good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save 
much people alive;" "Surely the wrath of man shall 
praise thee, the remainder of wrath thou shalt restrain." 
In view of this, how ardently and assiduously should the 
Church, in turn, labor for the conversion of the world ! 
If, however, by the term world is meant the things of the 
world, these also belong to Christians, and administer to 
their comfort. The wicked belong to the world ; that is, 
the world of wealth, of honor, of fashion, of pleasure 
holds them in a state of perfect vassalage. It compels 
them to do its bidding. It exerts such an absolute con- 
trol over them, that they seem to have no time to attend 
either to the interests of their souls, to prepare for a dying 
hour, or to make provision for the future state. And un- 
less, through the mercy of God, this spell is broken, and 
they are emancipated from this tyranny, their final and 
utter ruin will be certain and irretrievable. On the con- 
trary, the world belongs to Christians. It is their servant 
and not their master. They hold it in safe subordination, 
4 'This is the victory that overcame the world, even our 



THE CHRISTIAN S POSSESSIONS. 



331 



faith." Christians are "they that use this world as not 
abusing it." Through grace they stand ready, at any 
time, to balance their account with the world, and go 
to meet their judge. Moreover, "the earth is the Lord's, 
and the fullness thereof." Christians shall, therefore, 
share in this "fullness," more or less, as, in the judgment 
of infinite Wisdom, it may be deemed best for them. 
Hence the promises: "Trust in the Lord, and do good; 
so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be 
fed;" "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto 
you." 

3. Life is yours. Life is a momentous thing. It is the 
brief term of man's probationary existence here, prepara- 
tory to the future and eternal state of being. Upon its 
issue turn consequences of inconceivable importance. It 
is then that immortal beings enter upon an endless and 
an unchangeable career, either of happiness or misery. 
Life is the Christian's in its object, which is "to glorify 
God, and to enjoy him forever." It is his in its means, 
which aid in the accomplishment of this great object. 
Hence, it may be said that Christians only make a proper 
use of life, and they alone will share its primary object. 
"To them, who, by patient continuance in well-doing, 
seek for glory, and honor, and immortality," God will 
render "eternal life." 

4. Death is yours. Death, in itself, is a solemn thing. 
It is "the last enemy," and human nature instinctively 
revolts at its approach ; yet, appalling to our nature as is 
death in itself, in virtue of the provisions of the atone- 
ment it is turned to the Christian's account. "For me to 
live is Christ, and to die is gain." This last enemy is so 
subdued by the power of grace, that he is compelled to 
act toward the Christian the part of a servant or a friend. 
" Death is yours." Death performs for the Christian an 



332 



THE CHRISTIAN'S POSSESSIONS. 



act of service, which it would be unlawful for him to do 
for himself, and which results in the acquisition of eternal 
life above. See, with what fortitude and calmness he 
meets it! "Mark the perfect man, and behold the up- 
right; for the end of that man is peace. " Death, to him, 
is divested of his sting; "the sting of death is sin, and 
the strength of sin is the law ; but thanks be to God, who 
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ !" A 
few years since a pious minister of an eastern conference, 
when dying, said to his weeping wife, who, with her 
children, had approached him to bid husband and father 
a last adieu : "I feel that the cradle of death is fast rock- 
ing me into eternity; but, I bless God, it rocks easy." 
Happy man ! death was yours ! How true the sentiment 
of the poet ! 

" Jesus can make a dying bed 
Feel soft as downy pillows are ; 
While on his breast I lean my head, 
And breathe my life out sweetly there." 

That pious and devoted man — Professor Caldwell, of 
Dickinson College — while yielding up his spirit to God, 
said to his companion: "You will not, I am sure, lie 
down upon your bed and weep when I am gone. You 
will not mourn for me, when God has been so good to me. 
And when you visit the spot where I lie, do not choose a 
sad and mournful time. Do not go in the shades of the 
evening, or in the dark night. These are no times to visit 
the Christian's grave. But go in the morning, in the 
bright sunshine, when the birds are singing." Brethren, 
" why should we start and fear to die ?" Let us live right, 
and in death we shall, with others, realize that "all is 
well." "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord 
from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest 
from their labors ; and their works do follow them." 

5. Things present are yours. Among these we notice 
that honor is yours. "If any man serve me," says 



THE CHRISTIAN'S POSSESSIONS. 



333 



Christ, "him will my Father honor." Peace is yours. 
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not 
as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart 
be troubled, neither let it be afraid. " Happiness is yours. 
"Blessed are they that know the joyful sound. They 
shall walk, Lord, in the light of thy countenance ; and 
in thy name shall they rejoice all the day." Joy is yours. 
"Whom having not seen ye love; in whom, though now 
ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeak- 
able and full of glory." All necessary good is yours. 
"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he will give 
grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from 
them that walk uprightly." All God's providential dis- 
pensations shall be so conducted as to subserve your 
good. "We know that all things work together for good 
to them that love God." 

6. Things to come are yours. "Godliness is profitable 
unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, 
and of that which is to come." But, brethren, who, on 
earth, can comprehend or compute these "things to 
come?" It is enough to say, that heaven, with all its 
possessions, is yours. Are there "many mansions" in 
glory? You shall dwell in them. Is the "vision of God" 
there? You shall enjoy it. "Father, I will that those 
whom thou hast given me be with me, that where I am 
they may behold my glory." Are there " crowns " there ? 
You shall wear them. "Be thou faithful unto death, and 
I will give thee a crown of life." Are there "palms" 
there? You shall wave them in triumph before the 
throne. Is there "a new song" there? You shall sing 
it. "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our 
sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests 
unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion 
forever and ever ! Amen." Yet how inadequate the com- 
putation! "As it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear 



334 



THE CHRISTIAN S POSSESSIONS. 



heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the 
things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 
The eye has beheld beautiful and enchanting sceneries. 
The ear has heard sweet and melodious sounds. The 
heart has conceived grand and noble thoughts ; but after 
all, "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have en- 
tered into the heart of man" these "things to come," 
which God holds in reversion for Christians in the heavenly 
world. Yet, "all are yours." " In thy presence is full- 
ness of joy ; at thy right hand there are pleasures for ever- 
more." "All are yours," and yours forever. How rich 
are Christians ! "0, that men would praise the Lord for 
his goodness and his wonderful works to the children of 
men !" 

"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the 
dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd of the 
sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 
make you perfect in every good work, to do his will, work- 
ing in you that which is well -pleasing in his sight, through 
Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever! 
Amen." 



SERMONS 



AND 

SKETCHES OF SERMONS 

ON 

/araUinr unit ^rartiritl lotjnts, 

FROM THE 

MANUSCRIPTS OP DECEASED MINISTERS OP THE 
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

PART II. 

"Tell my brethren of the Ohio conference, if they think my name 
worthy of being mentioned, I have not preached an unknown and an 
unfelt Savior. Tell them that, although unworthy and unfaithful, the 
Gospel which I have preached to others sustains me now. Tell them, 
my only hope, my only foundation is in the blood of the cross — precious 
blood! the fullness, the richness, and the sweetness of that foun- 
tain." — Dying words of the late Rev. William B. Christie, of the 
Ohio Annual Conference. 



THE 



OHIO CONFERENCE OFFERING. 



SEEMON L 

BY BISHOP WILLIAM M'KENDREE.* 

FUNERAL DISCOURSE. 

" Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse our- 
selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the 
fear of God," 2 Corinthians vn, 1. 

Permit me, in imitation of holy men of former days, 
to enforce the doctrine contained in the text, by worthy 
example. For this purpose St. Paul produces a ' ' cloud of 
witnesses/ • and for similar purposes the examples of Abel 
and Stephen are recorded. In order to illustrate and en- 
force our doctrine, I will introduce the example of our 
highly-esteemed friend and brother, the late Governor 
Thomas Worthington, whose funeral obsequies we are 
this day called upon to mournfully attend. This is done, 
not only to recommend and enforce the doctrine of the 
text, but also to present some traits in the character of 
this excellent man, and to express the respect which is 
felt, in common, by many thousands of his Christian 
friends, over whom he has presided as Governor of the 
state, and rendered important aid in framing laws in the 
national and state legislatures. 

° This is only a sketch of the concluding portion of a discourse deliv- 
ered at the funeral of the late Governor Thomas Worthington, near Chilli - 

eothe, Ohio, on the of October, 1827 ; written out by himself at the 

request of his friend, Samuel Williams, Esq., of Mt. Auburn, who still re 
tains the original manuscript. 

29 337 



338 



FUNERAL DISCOURSE. 



Of his natural and acquired abilities ; the manner in 
which they were exercised, as a man, a husband, a father, 
for the benefit of his family and his country ; and his con- 
duct as the servant of the people in the discharge of the 
duties of the various offices to which he has been called, 
I need say nothing, as, in these respects, his fellow-citizens 
of Chillicothe, in public meeting, have given us a view of 
his character, too well drawn to need any addition. It 
only remains for me to add his Christian character to what 
is already before us. 

It is said of Moses, the legislator of the Jews, that he 
chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God 
than to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; namely, 
to inherit the Egyptian crown. And it may be said of 
our beloved Worthington, that when in the meridian of 
life, in possession of wealth, surrounded by a large and 
amiable family, crowned with the highest honors the state 
had to confer, and highly esteemed, both by his constitu- 
ents and his associates in office, for his able and effective 
services, he deliberately chose the advantages of the 
Christian religion, with its privations and self-denial, before 
all the honors and pleasures of the world. The circum- 
stances under which he made this choice necessarily pre- 
clude all suspicion of either mental weakness, enthusiasm, 
or unworthy motives. His choice was calmly, deliber- 
ately, and decidedly made. When he presented himself 
for membership in the Church of Christ, he was reminded 
of the probable consequence of the course he was about 
to take : that the contumely of the world would be heaped 
upon him, and his name "cast out as evil." But he had 
anticipated these things, and was prepared to meet them ; 
and, having avowed his faith in the doctrines of the 
Church, and his determination to walk by its rules of dis- 
cipline, he was received as a brother. Having added the 
duties of religion to those of the various relations of life, 



FUNERAL DISCOURSE. 



I am informed he withdrew from the world, and devoted 
himself to the service of Christ, and so lived as to die in 
the blissful hope of everlasting life. 

His manners were plain, unostentatious, generous, and 
frank. He had a high sense of justice, of punctuality and 
promptness in all his dealings with others. If he occa- 
sionally mixed with men of the world in a public manner, 
it was in conformity to the duties of official station, and it 
was his cross and not his pleasure to do so. That he was 
sentimentally opposed to pomp and in favor of sincerity 
and simplicity of manners, appears from his own deport- 
ment through life, and is farther evinced by a clause in his 
will, expressive of his desire that his family and friends 
should use no badges of mourning for him after his death. 
To the credit of his afflicted widow and children, his wish 
in this particular was as punctually attended to as was the 
command of Jonadab to his children. 

I have had the pleasure of being with this servant of 
Christ at his own hospitable mansion, and in his neighbor- 
hood. I have occasionally seen, and frequently heard 
from him, in other and distant sections of country, and 
have seen nor heard of any thing unbecoming the Chris- 
tian. 

Thus lived and thus died our lamented and much- 
esteemed fellow- citizen and beloved brother in Christ; 
and, although dead, he yet liveth, by his example, to 
recommend religion and enforce the all-important doc- 
trines of our text. 

Let us, therefore, dearly-beloved hearers, consider the 
importance of the doctrines, the authority with which they 
are supported, the awful consequence of persisting in our 
own ways, and the everlasting happiness of submitting to 
the Lord's way. Let us adopt the choice and follow the 
example of our beloved brother Worthington, if haply we 
may escape the punishment which our conduct deserves, 



340 



THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. 



obtain pardon for all our sins, and find our way to ever- 
lasting happiness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 



SEKMON II. 

BY REV. EDWARD TIFFIN, M. D * 

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. 

" Let us now go unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to 
pass," Luke n, 15. 

This day the anniversary of the Savior's birth greets 
the Christian world. It comes to remind us of that sacred 
era which the holy Jesus hallowed by his advent to our 
earth and his assumption of our nature. The calendar of 
the saints registers no epoch so dear to memory. History 
records no event so momentous to man. Through the 
vista of eighteen hundred years, the eye of faith still sees 
the unfolded radiance of the halcyon morning whose 

3 Dr. Edward Tnnx was a local deacon in the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, to which office he was ordained by Bishop Asbury, in 1792, in Vir- 
ginia, in which state he then resided. He was a native of England; 
studied medicine in that country, and came to the United States, and set- 
tled in Charleston, Berkeley county, Virginia, where he commenced the 
practice of physic before he had reached the age of twenty-one years. He 
there married a sister of the late Governor Worthington, of Ohio, and, in 
1796, removed to Chillicothe, where, for several years, he continued his 
practice as a physician with great success. 

He was early a member of the territorial Legislature of the North- 
Western territory, president of the convention which formed the first con- 
stitution of Ohio, and was elected the first Governor of the state, and 
chosen a second term to the same office. He was afterward, successively, 
senator in Congress several years; Speaker of one of the houses in the 
state Legislature ; the first Commissioner of the General Land-Office, at 
Washington City; and afterward Surveyor-General of United States 
public lands, which office he held fifteen years, in Chillicothe, and from 
which he was removed by President Jackson, when the Doctor was on his 
death-bed, in 1829. He died in joyful hope of everlasting life. 

As a preacher, his talents were very respectable. He was methodical in 



THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. 



341 



orient beams were the first dawning of an immortal day, 
and over which the lapse of ages has thrown no obscurity. 
It was an era which time can never blot from the recollec- 
tions of man — which eternity can not expunge from the 
archives of heaven. Then it was that the great scene of 
redemption opened, and the stupendous scheme of mercy, 
projected in the sublime councils of heaven, began to be 
developed. Then the great prophecy of ages was turned 
into history, and the Shiloh of early promise stood re- 
vealed. Then were promulged those "glad tidings of 
great joy" which first cheered to ecstasy the shepherds 
of Bethlehem, and which were soon to be "published to 
all people." Then "the morning stars sang together," 
and the arches of heaven rang with the hosannas of 
angels. Vain were the attempts to portray the glories of 
the auspicious day, which filled the earth with shouts of 
jubilation, and lighted up new lusters in the skies. The 
pens, the tongues, the language of mortals are impotent in 
the effort. Eloquence may array all its tropes and figures ; 
the muse may combine all her imagery, and soar on her 
sublimest wing ; and, without the promptings of inspiration, 
leaves the lofty theme all untold. 

the arrangement of his discourses, and always presented his subject with 
great clearness and force; and his appeals to the hearts and consciences 
of "his hearers were usually pointed, energetic, and effective. His lan- 
guage was somewhat florid, yet plain, and adapted to the comprehension 
of all. His manner, his action in the pulpit, was impulsive, yet natural, 
and his countenance expressive; and his discourses were delivered with 
great animation, and often with eloquence and power. 

In person, Dr. Tiffin was rather below the middle size and stature ; but, 
till impaired health and the infirmities of age came upon him, he was re- 
markable for his activity and the quickness of his movements. Whatever 
he did, he did with his might ; and it was his rule never to put off till to- 
morrow what could be done to-day. In company and conversation, his 
vivacity and animation were no less remarkable than his physical activity. 

To the active labors and influence of Dr. Tiffin and his excellent lady, 
the Church is more indebted than to any others for the introduction and 
establishment of Methodism in Chillicothe and the surrounding country. 
This and the two following discourses were written in 1817. 

29* 



342 



THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. 



But, although we can not portray the scene, we love to 
dwell on the portrait already drawn in the Gospel, by 
more than mortal pen. We love to go back, in imagina- 
tion, to the long-lapsed period of his nativity; to linger 
around the hallowed spot ; to witness the train of wonders 
evolved in the process, and to ponder the auspicious sequel. 
The scene spreads itself anew before the eye, and a sol- 
emn awe gathers around the heart. The mighty birth is 
proclaimed in our ears. We see the infant Immanuel 
"wrapped in swaddling-clothes," and him to whom "is 
given all power in heaven and in earth," pillowed upon 
the rude manger of a stable! We see the "star in the 
east" stand gleaming in the heavens to guide the footsteps 
of the wise man. We hear him, while yet a child, con- 
founding the wisdom of sages, and baffling Pharisaic sub- 
tility. We follow him into the great scenes of his labors 
and toils, and behold acts of godlike benevolence circling 
his path, and miracles of mercy sealing his divine mission. 
We see water blushing: into wine at his volition, and a few 
loaves and fishes swelled into profusion for thousands by 
his blessing. The eyeballs of the blind are unsealed at 
his touch ; the sick are healed by his word ; and the dead 
start into life again at his summons. 

We pursue him in his sufferings, mingle in his sorrows, 
and weep over the woes which beset his path to the cross. 
We see him treading the wine-press alone, and whelmed 
under waves of guilt not his own. We weep with him in 
the garden of Gethsemane, in the hour of agony, when 
the bitterness of anguish drew blood from every pore. 
We behold him betrayed by the kiss of a perfidious disci- 
ple ; arraigned as a felon ; tried in solemn mockery, amid 
the vociferations of a mob ; and doomed to death by mal 
ice and perjury. We hear the declaration of his inno- 
cence and the sentence of his condemnation together, from 
the same mouth We see the crown of thorns twining 



THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. 



343 



around his sacred head, the last vial of wrath poured out, 
and the great tragedy of the cross closing the scene. 

Closing, did I say? Does the scene close here? no! 
It only changes. A day of joy breaks upon this midnight 
of sorrows. The hour of triumph is at hand. Though 
he could not come down from the cross, he could break 
the seals of death and the inclosures of the sepulcher. 
He arose, "the first-fruits of them that slept," and taught 
us that sleeping millions shall, one day, burst their tombs 
and spring to life — the life of gods. If angels shouted 
at his birth, what notes of holy rapture should warble 
forth from human tongues at his triumph over the grave ! 
This is the great theme of human exultation. Here our 
human nature puts on immortal robes, and virtue dresses 
up for heaven. This great fact sweeps away at once the 
dreams of heathen speculation, and disperses the cloud 
that vailed the brightest pages of early philosophy. 

Yet, strange to tell, the anniversary of the day which 
gave this Savior birth, and led to these momentous results, 
is permitted, with a few exceptions, to pass unheeded in a 
Christian community, with scarce any other memorial 
than a registry in our calendars. Were a stranger to our 
religion to read, for the first time, the Gospel history of 
the Savior's advent and its merciful purposes ; his suffer- 
ing life and tragical death ; that all his toils and sufferings 
were a voluntary and vicarious sacrifice ; that he is now 
confessed to be our atonement, and our redemption from 
bondage and death ; how would he expect the day which 
gave him birth to be commemorated and honored? 
what signs of gratulation with which to greet the first 
dawning rays of this anniversary morning? what notes 
of joy to echo back the songs of transport which once 
gladdened the plains of Bethlehem? Would not he ex- 
pect to see this day set apart as the jubilee of nations ; a 
solemn abstraction from secular concerns ; the doors of 



344 



THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. 



sacred temples thrown open ; their walls verdant with the 
emblems of immortality; throngs pressing around the 
altar with oblations of gratitude ; and adoring devotion 
pouring forth incense of prayer and praise to the God of 
so great salvation? Well, blessed be God! we hope the 
period will erelong arrive when all who assume the name 
and wear the badges of Christianity will unite in cele- 
brating, as a holy jubilee, the anniversary of a Savior's 
birth. They will, like the shepherds mentioned in the 
text, "go even to Bethlehem, to see this thing which is 
come to pass." The shepherds did as they proposed; 
they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and 
the babe lying in a manger. They believed before they 
came ; but now their faith is confirmed by sight. They 
were both gratified and edified by the view, and they 
returned glorifying and praising God for all the things 
which they had seen and heard. 

Let us, then, imitate these happy men; let us "go to 
Bethlehem" — the name signifies "the house of bread;" 
there, in the contemplation of the Savior of a fallen world, 
may we find bread for our souls ! To excite your atten- 
tion to this divine subject, let it be observed, you may 
there see, 

I. The Deity displayed. 

II. Man redeemed. 

I. Let us, then, go to Bethlehem, and see the Deity 
displayed. 

The first promise God made to fallen man was, " The 
seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." 
Jesus Christ, as to the flesh, is "the seed of the woman." 
But he is infinitely more. St. Paul says, "When the 
fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made 
of a woman." It was necessary for our redemption that 
the Savior of men should himself be man ; for the same 
nature that sinned must bear the punishment of sin. Yet 



THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. 



345 



the Man, that holy thing which was born of the virgin, 
was to be called "the Son of God," holy, harmless, un- 
defined, and separate from sinners ; fit to become sin for 
us, because he knew no sin. 

In what manner the human nature was united to the 
Divine we can not tell. It is enough for us that such was 
the fact. Let the following inspired witnesses testify, and 
confirm our faith. St. Matthew says, " His name shall be 
called Immanuel, which signifies, God with us." St. John 
says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word 
was with God, and the Word was God;" "And the Word 
was made flesh, and dwelt among us." St. Paul assures 
us that, "without controversy, great is the mystery of 
godliness ;" namely, "God manifest in the flesh." This 
is a glorious and pleasing truth : God is manifest in the 
flesh. Man could not ascend to him, and lo ! he comes 
down to us ! 

Deplorable darkness has long covered the earth, and 
the wisest of men bowed down to an "unknown God." 
But, glory be to his name! he who was "the brightness 
of the Father's glory, and the express image of his per- 
son;" the image of the invisible God, "who, being in the 
form of God," and who "thought it not robbery to be 
equal with God," condescends to become a man — a poor 
man — "that we through his poverty might be rich." By 
his heavenly doctrine ; by his astonishing miracles ; in his 
lovely and spotless life ; and especially in his divine per- 
son, God was manifested to man. " Shew us the Father," 
said Philip to him, "and it sufficeth us." Jesus, in a way 
of gentle rebuke, replied, " Have I been so long time with 
you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?" and then 
follow these remarkable words, fully proving that God 
was manifested in the flesh : " He that hath seen me hath 
seen the Father ; and how sayest thou, then, Shew us the 
Father? Belie vest thou not that I am in the Father, and 



346 



THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. 



the Father in me?" " Henceforth ye know him, and have 
seen him;" for " I and my Father are one." 

Let us, then, go to Bethlehem, and see this great thing 
which angels desire to look into. Glorious mystery ! we 
can not fully comprehend it. Men may speak and write 
of it; but it can not be described. We may speak of it; 
but the most we can say about it is, that it is unspeakable ; 
and the most we know is, that it passeth knowledge. 
Suffice it, then, that we believe and adore. Let but the 
light shine into our hearts, to give us "the light of the 
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus 
Christ," and it is enough. We will dwell at Bethlehem 
all our days, till he shall remove us to Bethel above, where 
we shall no longer "see through a glass darkly," but 
"face to face." 

II. Let us go to Bethlehem and see man redeemed. 

The redemption of fallen man was the grand design of 
the Savior's birth. " God sent his Son, made of a woman, 
made under the law, to redeem them that were under the 
law." He was named Jesus, because he came to "save 
his people from their sins." There is something delight- 
ful in the name, Savior! Cicero, the Roman orator, said 
that, when traveling in Greece, he saw a pillar inscribed 
with the word, " Savior." He admired the fullness of 
the name ; but he knew not its Christian import. How 
much more may we admire it ! for it is 

" Jesus ! the name that charms our fears, 
That bids our sorrows cease ; 
'Tis music in the sinner's ears ; 
'Tis life, and health, and peace." 

It was in this character that the saints of old expected 
his appearance. " To him gave all the prophets witness, 
that, through his name, whosoever believeth in him should 
receive remission of sins." About the time of his coming 
the godly people in Jerusalem were looking for redemp- 



THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. 



347 



tion, and, with Simeon, "waiting for the consolation of 
Israel." Our Lord himself declares this to be the chief 
design of his coming: "God so loved the world, that he 
gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him might not perish, but have everlasting life." 

Here, then, we see the grace and love of the blessed 
Jesus. He, the Most High God, blessed for evermore, 
consented to become man ! He who was life, and gave 
life to all, became a mortal man. He was born to die ; 
because we were partakers of flesh and blood, he, also, 
himself took part of the same, yet without sin. Every 
victim under the law must be perfect and without blemish. 
It was, therefore, necessary that the Lamb of God should 
be so also. Hence, says St. John, " He was manifested to 
take away our sins, and in him is no sin." Being thus 
pure and holy, the sins of the whole Church were laid 
upon him; for "he bare our sins in his own body upon 
the tree." " The Lord laid upon him the iniquities of us 
all," that, by his stripes, we might be healed. Here is 
displayed to our view the redemption that is in Jesus. 
He has redeemed us from the curse of the law ; he hath 
redeemed us from the power and dominion of sin ; he 
hath redeemed us to God, body, soul, and spirit. But, in 
order to avail ourselves of this redemption, we are called 
upon, by his Spirit and by his Gospel, to unfeignedly 
repent of our sins and believe in his holy name. This 
faith or belief, if genuine, will produce a supreme love to 
God ; and this love will associate to itself love to all man- 
kind. The soul thus under this divine influence will ren- 
der a cheerful and willing obedience to all the Divine 
commands ; and when it has served God during its proba- 
tionary state here upon earth, it will, at the close of life, 
be enabled to say with the apostle of old, " I have fin- 
ished my course ; I have kept the faith ; henceforth there 
is laid up for me a crown of life, which God, the righteous 



348 



THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. 



Judge, will give me in that day ; and not to me only, but 
unto all them also that love his appearing." 

Application. Having been to Bethlehem to see this 
thing which is come to pass, let us now, like the shep- 
herds of old, return glorifying God for all the things we 
have heard and seen. We learn, that in the incarnation 
of the Son of God, we may see the Deity displayed and 
man redeemed. How vast and glorious are these designs 
of a Savior's birth ! The angels knew this when they 
sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, 
good-will toward men!" But are these purposes of his 
appearance answered as to us? Does God, in all his glori- 
ous perfections, manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, 
so attract our notice as to cause us to adore, and love, and 
praise him — magnifying the God of Israel, and saying : 
"The Lord hath visited and redeemed his people?" Are 
Ave among his redeemed? or are we seeking to be re- 
deemed from the guilt and power of sin ; from the follies 
and vanities of this world, in order to be translated into 
the kingdom of God's dear Son ? If so, we have abund- 
ant cause of joy. We will find that the Church of God 
is still a Bethlehem — "a house of bread." God will feed 
our souls with "the bread which cometh down from 
heaven," and which endure th to eternal life, our purposes 
of repentance and amendment will be strengthened, our 
virtues will be abundantly increased, and we shall grow 
in grace, and in the knowledge and love of God, till the 
great Head of his Church shall fulfill his last promise, of 
calling us up higher, "that where he is, we may be also." 



SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. 



349 



SERMON III. 

BY REV. EDWARD TIFFIN, M. D. 

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. 

" Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and 
they are they which testify of me," John v, 39. 

The Scriptures are certainly an inexhaustible fund of 
matter for the most delightful and ennobling employment. 
When we consider the Author of these sacred books — that 
they came originally from heaven, were dictated by divine 
Wisdom, having the same consummate excellence as the 
works of creation — it is really surprising that we are not 
always searching, by study, by meditation, or converse, 
in one or other of these grand volumes. Are we eager to 
hear, and impatient, often, to purchase what proceeds 
from the eloquent tongues and masterly pens of men? 
And can we be coldly indifferent when, not the most ac- 
complished of mankind, not the most exalted of creatures, 
but the adorable Author of all wisdom speaks in his 
revealed word ? Strange that our attention does not hang 
upon the venerable record, and our talk dwell upon the 
incomparable truths ! Strange that we do not always imi- 
tate the noble conduct of the citizens of Berea, in receiv- 
ing the word with more readiness of mind, and obey the 
admonition in the text, by searching the Scriptures daily, 
and more especially so, when it assures us that they are a 
display of the divine perfections of the Savior of a fallen 
race, and abundantly testify, or bear witness, to this glo- 
rious truth ! For would you wish to see history, in all her 
simplicity, and all her force, most beautifully easy, yet 
irresistingly striking — see her, or, rather, feel her energy, 
touching the nicest movements of the soul, and triumph- 

30 



350 



SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. 



ing over all our passions ? Look, then, at the narrative of 
Joseph's life; the representation of Esau's bitter distress; 
the affectionate but afflicting intercourse between Jonathan 
and his gallant friend ; the memorable journal of the dis- 
ciple going to the village of Emmaus ; and there you will 
find finished models of the impassioned and affecting : and 
yet there is nothing studied — no flights of fancy, and no 
embellishments of oratory. 

Are we pleased with the elevation and dignity of a 
heroic poem, or the tenderness and perplexity of a dra- 
matic performance ? In the book of Job they are both 
united, and both unequaled. The language glows and 
the pathos swells, till, at last, the Deity himself makes his 
entrance. He speaks from the whirlwind, and summons 
the creation: summons heaven and all its shining' host; 
the elements, and their most wonderful productions, to 
vouch for his providential dispensations. His word strikes 
terror and flashes conviction, decides the momentous con- 
troversy, and closes the august drama with all possible 
solemnity and grandeur. 

If sometimes we choose a plaintive strain, such as soft- 
ens the mind, and soothes an agreeable melancholy, where 
can we find any thing equal to David's pathetic elegy on 
his beloved Jonathan ; to his most passionate and incon- 
solable moan over his lovely but unhappy x^bsalom ; or to 
that melodious woe, which warbles and bleeds in every 
line of Jeremiah's lamentations ! 

Would you wish to be entertained with the daring sub- 
limity, the expressive delicacy, or the rapid excursions of 
the most celebrated authors of antiquity? Behold them 
joined, yea, excelled, in the odes of Moses — the eucha- 
ristic hymn of Deborah — in the exalted devotion of the 
Psalms, and the glorious enthusiasm of the prophets ; but 
with this difference, that the former are tuneful triflers, 
and amu«e the mind with emptv fiction, while the latter 



SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. 



351 



are teachers sent from God, and make the soul wise unto 
salvation. 

Are we admirers of antiquity? Here we are led back 
beyond the universal deluge, and far beyond the date of 
any other annals. We are introduced among the earliest 
inhabitants of the earth. We take a view of mankind in 
their undisguised, primitive plainness, and when the days 
of their life were but little short of one thousand years. 
We are brought acquainted with the original of nations, 
with the creation of the world, and with the birth of time 
itself. 

Are we delighted with achievements? Where is any 
thing comparable to the miracles in Egypt, and the won- 
ders in the fields of Zoar ; to the memoirs of the Israelites 
passing through the depths of the sea, sojourning in the 
inhospitable deserts, and conquering the kingdoms of 
Canaan ? Where shall we meet wdth instances of martial 
bravery equal to the prodigious exploits of the Judges, or 
the adventurous deeds of Jesse's valiant son, and his 
matchless band of worthies? Here we behold the funda- 
mental laws of the universe, sometimes suspended, some- 
times reversed; and not only the current of Jordan, but 
the course of nature controlled. In short, when we enter 
the field of Scripture, we tread, shall I say on enchanted, 
shall I say, rather, on consecrated ground ? — where aston- 
ishment and awe are awakened at every turn, and the 
whole presented with all the precision and sanctity of 
eternal truth? 

If we want maxims of wisdom, how copiously may our 
wants be supplied, and how delicately our taste gratified, 
especially in the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and some 
of the minor prophets ! Here are the most sage lessons 
of instruction, adapted to every circumstance of life, 
formed upon the experience of all preceding ages, and 
perfected by the unerring Spirit of divine inspiration — the 



352 



SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. 



whole like a profusion of pearls, each containing, in a very 
small compass, a value almost immense, all heaped up — 
as an ingenious critic speaks — with a confused magnifi- 
cence beyond all order. 

If we look for strength of reasoning and warmth of 
exhortation, the insinuating arts of genteel address, or the 
manly boldness of impartial reproof ; all the thunder of the 
orator, without any of his ostentation; all the politeness 
of the courtier, without any of his flattery, let us have 
recourse to the Acts of the Apostles, and to the epistles 
of St. Paul. These are a specimen, or, rather, these are 
the standard of them all. 

Are you fond of pastoral, in all its graces ? Never have 
we seen such exquisite touches of rural painting, or such 
sweet images of endeared affection, as in the song of 
songs, which is Solomon's. All the brilliant and amiable 
appearances in nature are employed to delineate the ten- 
derness of His heart, who is love itself, to portray the 
beauty of His person, who is the chiefest among ten thou- 
sand, and describe the happiness of these souls, whose 
fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus 
Christ. 

Perhaps some of my hearers may be ready to conclude 
there has been enough said to recommend the admonition 
in the text, " Search the Scriptures." But there are other 
and great considerations connected with the subject. 

They afford the most awful and the most amiable man- 
ifestations of the Godhead. His glory shines and his 
goodness smiles in these divine pages with unparalleled 
luster. Here we have a satisfactory explanation of our 
own state. The origin of evil is traced, the cause of all 
our misery discovered, and the remedy — the infallible 
remedy — both clearly shown and freely offered. The 
merits of the bleeding Savior lay a firm foundation for 
all our hopes, while gratitude for his dying love suggests 



SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. 353 

the most winning incitement to every duty. Morality — 
admired morality — is delineated in all its branches, is 
placed upon its proper basis, and raised to its highest ele- 
vation. The Spirit of God is promised, to enlighten the 
darkness of our understanding, and strengthen the imbe- 
cility of our wills. What a blessed provision is made in 
these blessed books for all our spiritual wants ; to lead us 
to the Church of Christ militant here on earth, and train 
us up in that Church, for the glories of the Church tri- 
umphant in heaven ! 

Is any one convinced of guilt, or provoking heaven and 
ruining the soul ? This blessed charter of his salvation as- 
sures him, that God so loved the world, as to give his only- 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life. He is not left, then, to 
the uncertainty ^ of conjecture; but is assured that the 
truly-penitent soul shall obtain forgiveness, and that his 
sins shall be remembered no more. 

Are we assaulted by temptation, or averse to duty? 
These sacred pages assure us, that sin shall not have do- 
minion over us ; that the grace of God is sufficient for us, 
and that he will be both a sun and a shield to all who 
confide in his mercy, and will work in them both to will 
and to do of his good pleasure. 

Should we be visited with sickness, or overtaken by 
calamity, these enlightening pages declare, that tribula- 
tions are fatherly chastisements, tokens of our Maker's 
love, and fruits of his care ; that they are intended to 
work in us the peaceable, fruitful fruits of righteousness, 
and to work out for us an eternal weight of glory. 

Should we, under the summons of death, to which all 
are exposed, have recourse to all the most celebrated com- 
forters in the heathen world, they would increase our ap- 
prehensions rather than mitigate our dread. Death is 
represented by the great master of their schools, "as 

30* 



354 



SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. 



the most formidable of all evils." They were not able 
positively to determine whether the soul survived, and 
never so much as dreamed of the resurrection of the 
body ; whereas the book of God strips the monster of 
his horrors, or turns him into a messenger of peace — gives 
him an angel's face and a deliverer's hand — ascertaining 
to the souls of the righteous an immediate translation 
into the regions of bliss, and assuring to their bodies a 
most advantageous revival at the restoration of all things. 
Inestimable book ! It heals the maladies of life, and sub- 
dues the fear of death. It strikes a lightsome vista 
through the gloom of the grave, and opens a charming, a 
glorious prospect of immortality in the heavens. 

Well did the Redeemer of the world know the blessed 
consequences that would flow from an attention to his 
divine injunction : " Search the Scriptures ; for in them ye 
think ye have eternal life : and they are they which testify 
of me," And how forcibly did the apostle Paul second 
his gracious designs, by exhorting his brethren "to let 
the word of Christ dwell in them richly!" The advanta- 
ges to be derived from a discharge of this duty, we are 
assured will be a full confirmation of our faith. They 
testify of the Redeemer of men. They bear witness to 
the truth of his divine mission. All the ancient prophe- 
cies obtained their full accomplishment in him. Every 
prediction was abundantly verified : his birth, his life, his 
miracles, his heavenly doctrines, and his death, all testify, 
or bear witness, that the desire of nations was come, and 
that the Lord had visited and redeemed his people. And 
let it be observed, that these Scriptures which we are ex- 
horted "to search," contain every thing necessary for us 
to know, in order to obtain everlasting life and happiness ; 
that no other revelation is to be expected from heaven to 
man. "They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear 
them," was observed to an anxious desirer for a different 



THE CHOICE OF MOSES. 



355 



mode of communication. " And if they will not hear Moses 
and the prophets, neither would they be persuaded, though 
one rose from the dead," was declared to be a fact by one 
who had the best means of knowing human nature. 

But we should be wanting in duty to our hearers, did 
we not admonish them, that a proper disposition of heart 
is necessary to be brought to this exercise. " Search the 
Scriptures." Our Lord said to the Jews, "If any man 
will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it 
be of God, or whether I speak of myself;" which is as 
much as if he had said, "Sincerity of heart is indispen- 
sable to a right understanding of the Scriptures." If, 
there ore, we bring to this important duty, a heart sin- 
cerely disposed to be enlightened, instructed, and benefited 
by the truth, we have the promise of infinite Truth itself, 
that we shall not be disappointed. We shall be both ben- 
efited and blessed to the utmost extent of our desires. 
We shall enjoy all the blessings promised to the members 
of the Church militant here on earth, and, finally, when 
our pilgrimage is accomplished, we shall be translated to 
the Church triumphant in heaven. 



SEEMOJST IY. 

BY REV. EDWARD TIFFIN, M. D 

THE CHOICE OF MOSES. 

"By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the 
son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the 
people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming 
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt : for he 
had respect unto the recompense of the reward," Hebkews xi, 24-26. 

That we may have a right understanding of this sub- 
ject, it will be necessary to revert to the early history of 



356 



THE CHOICE OF MOSES. 



the Jewish people. The sacred records inform us in what 
manner the patriarchs were planted in Egypt, during the 
seven years' famine that afflicted that and the surrounding 
country; how these people retained their national pe- 
culiarities, and were united to each other; how they 
grew and multiplied till their numbers excited the jealousy 
of Pharaoh and his court. In the first chapter of Exodus 
we are told that "the children of Israel were fruitful, and 
increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceed- 
ing mighty; and the land was filled with them." So 
that the king said unto his people, "Behold, the people of 
the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. 
Come, let us deal wisely with them ; lest they multiply, 
and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, 
they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and 
so get them up out of the land." Therefore they re- 
duced them to slavery, and set cruel taskmasters over 
them, and afflicted them exceedingly. But the more they 
afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. An 
edict was passed to destroy every male child as soon as 
born, which the providence of God overruled. Another 
was enacted, commanding all the people to throw every 
male infant into the Nile, that they might be destroyed. 
While this cruel and unnatural law was in force, Moses, 
the hero of the text, was ushered upon the great theater 
of human life. Exodus, chapter ii : "And there went a 
man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of 
Levi. And the woman bare a son : and when she saw 
him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 
And when she could not longer hide him, she took for 
him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and 
with pitch, and put the child therein ; and she laid it in 
the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar 
off, to wit what would be done with him. And the 
daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the 



THE CHOICE OF MOSES. 



357 



river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side: 
and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her 
maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw 
the child : and behold, the babe wept. And she had com- 
passion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' 
children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, 
Shall I go, and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, 
that she may nurse the child for thee ? And Pharaoh's 
daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called 
the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto 
her, Take this child away and nurse it for me and I will 
give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child and 
nursed it. And the child grew, and she brcfught him unto 
Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she 
called his name Moses : and she said, because I drew him 
out of the water." In this beautiful and interesting rela- 
tion, we see how Moses became, and was considered as 
the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and the propriety with 
which the apostle in the text informs us, "By faith Moses, 
when he was come to years, refused to be called the son 
of Pharaoh's daughter." Let us consider 

I. What is implied in Moses's refusal. 

II. What he chose in preference; and, 

III. What determined his choice: "He had respect 
unto the recompense of the reward." 

I. We have seen in what manner Moses became, and 
was considered the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 

It is said the fundamental laws of Egypt did not suffer 
women to ascend the throne, and that Pharaoh had no 
male issue ; that he had confirmed and adopted Moses 
as his daughter's son, and had given him an education 
suitable to his rank and dignity; for in the Acts of the 
Apostles we are informed, "that Moses was learned in all 
the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in wonders 
and deed." His prospects were, therefore, great and flat- 



358 



THE CHOICE OF MOSES. 



tering. He was the presumed heir-apparent to the throne 
of Egypt. In refusing, therefore, to be considered any- 
longer as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, he relin- 
quished the honors and the pleasures of a splendid court, 
and, as the latter part of the text strongly implies, all the 
treasures of Egypt. In despotic governments, such as 
Egypt then was, the wealth of the nation is too much at 
the disposal and under the control of the monarch. 
There, eastern magnificence, with all its alluring splendor, 
opened to the youthful mind of Moses all its glittering 
charms. Every object that could dazzle the eye, charm 
the heart, or captivate the affections, was opened in pros- 
pect to his enjoyment; and yet, at the command of his 
God, he nobly determined to make a sacrifice of them all. 
This determination was not an indiscreet sally of youth ; 
for it was made after he had come to years — after his un- 
derstanding had ripened to maturity. His mind, highly 
gifted by nature, had been improved by a liberal educa- 
tion, and he was fully capable of reflecting on the course 
he was now called upon to pursue. He made a choice — 
a choice dictated by his best interests, and refused to be 
called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, which brings us to 
the second consideration. 
II. His CHOICE. 

He chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of 
God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, es- 
teeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the 
treasures of Egypt ; for he had respect unto the recom- 
pense of the reward. 

The affliction mentioned in the text, includes mental as 
well as bodily affliction. And when we consider what a 
wayward people the Jews were ; how often they rebelled 
against, and disbelieved their God ; and how often they 
grieved the soul of this good man, who had manifested 
so much disinterested benevolence for them, we may, then, 



THE CHOICE OF MOSES. 



359 



have a view of his sufferings and afflictions. Notwith- 
standing God had so often appeared in their behalf, at the 
earnest entreaty of Moses, from his first application to 
Pharaoh for their deliverance ; in opening a passage for 
them through the Red Sea, for their escape, and miracu- 
lously overthrowing Pharaoh and all his host; in provid- 
ing food from heaven, and water from the rock in the wil- 
derness to sustain them ; directing their course by night 
and by day, and other numberless instances of divine 
goodness, all apparently through the intercession of Moses ; 
yet his life was a continued scene of sorrow and affliction. 
He was afflicted on their account, and he had to suffer re- 
proach from them. And why? Because he believed his 
God, and had respect unto the recompense of the reward. 
God had appeared unto him in the burning bush, and laid 
his commands upon him. The mode or manner of this 
communication was such, that Moses could not doubt, for 
a moment, but that it was the voice of God. Moses hesi- 
tates, but resolves to obey. By faith it was he made the 
resolution. He believed his God, and he determined to 
obey him. He looks through the vista of time. He con- 
siders the short course of all sublunary things. He con- 
sults his best interests, and the glorious recompense of 
reward that awaits all who are obedient to their God. 
Thus he set a noble example to future believers, estab- 
lished a character for faith and piety, and his name is 
handed down to future generations as one worthy of imi- 
tation. 

It only remains for us to make a suitable application to 
ourselves. We are all individually called to a life of faith 
and piety, and the same recompense of reward awaits 
every obedient soul. We may not be called upon to 
make a sacrifice equal to Moses ; but we must all deny 
ourselves of all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and we 
must live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present 



360 



THE CHOICE OF MOSES. 



world. The Christian religion does not require any sacri- 
fice of rational enjoyment ; it only restrains us in the tem- 
perate use of all the blessings of life. It calls upon us to 
glorify God in all things. And if we will seriously reflect 
upon the obligations we are under to Heaven ; that every 
blessing we have, or do enjoy, flows from infinite Good- 
ness, and that all our future hopes depend upon the same 
source, what rational man can refuse to render that obedi- 
ence the Gospel enjoins, and more especially so, when he 
is assured that in this life he will enjoy the approbation 
of his own mind, and, what is of infinitely -greater import- 
ance, he will also enjoy the smiles of Heaven. Neither 
power, wealth, nor influence can save him from affliction, 
or secure him against the stroke of death ; and how lam- 
entable will be his condition, at the close of life, to look 
back upon a misspent life, and forward without hope ! 
Whereas, on the other hand, should he be so happy as to 
have believed and obeyed his God, how serene and peace- 
ful will be the closing scene to him ! Faith in Christ and 
hope in God will enable him to triumph over death, and 
suffer the last pangs of dissolving nature in all the majesty 
of woe. Blessed in life, blessed in death, and blessed 
will he be forever and forever. 



A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS' BENCH. 



361 



SEEMON Y. 

BY REV. WILLIAM B. CHRISTIE, 

OF THE OHIO ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 

A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS' BENCH. 

" In those days and at that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel 
shall come, they and the children of Judah, together going and -weeping 
they shall go and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to 
Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, let us join ourselves to 
the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten," Jeremiah 
l, 4, 5. 

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye 
may be healed. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 
much," James v, 16, 

The question has been often asked, and not always cap- 
tiously, why do the Methodists arrange their seats and in- 
vite, as they call it, mourners forward, to receive the 
prayers of the Church? Is it because they think they 
can renew them in the spirit of their minds, and turn 
them from Satan to God? We answer, No. We never 
thought we could change the heart, or make alive the soul 
dead in trespasses and sins. 

What, then, is it done for? Do they imagine a peni- 
tent soul can only pour out its desires acceptably at the 
mourners' bench? Not so. We think a penitent may, 
wherever found, make known his wants acceptably to 
God, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

For what, then, is the invitation given ? I allow prayer 
is one of the ways in which man may " avail much" for 
his fellow-man. Do they imagine the people of God can 
only lift up their prayers in faith for the broken-hearted 
when before them around the altar? Still we answer, 
No. We believe most fully that they who love our Lord 
Jesus Christ, may engage in supplication for those of a 

31 



362 A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS' BENCH. 

contrite spirit, in general, when none are personally before 
them. 

Well, I am more perplexed than ever to imagine the 
reasons upon which this, to me, strange practice is founded. 
I have thought sometimes it was without any. By some 
means it was introduced in the first instance, and has been 
continued without examination, and with strong and obvi- 
ous objections to its retention. It may be, however, they 
have taken up the strange notion the penitent sinner can 
only be converted in this way, and there, and there only, 
must he expect redemption, even the forgiveness of sins. 
Neither is this the reason. We not only believe they 
may be, but that thousands have been converted, who 
were never seen formally at the altar. 

If, then, they have no power to convert; if the penitent 
can lift up his heart in acceptable prayer elsewhere ; if the 
people of God can intercede in behalf of the heavy 
ladened ; and if they may, and often do, find pardon and 
peace at another place than the mourners' bench, I am 
entirely at a loss to know why the practice is continued, 
and what can be gained on the part of the penitent desir- 
ing salvation ; more especially when it is known that many 
persons entertain strong prejudices against this practice, 
and the profane scoff at it as ridiculous. Persevered in 
under such circumstances, it should have strong reasons 
to justify the practice. 

Let us, then, calmly consider the practice, and inquire 
into its reasons. Put, then, the case in the most unfavor- 
able light. Let it be supposed that he who kneels at the 
altar, asking the prayers of them that believe, is never 
converted at the altar, but elsewhere. Has he gained 
nothing, and is there no reason to sustain and bear him 
out in the step taken ? He who thinks so has reached his 
conclusion by a process different from that which I have 
been accustomed to pursue, and must have studied the 



A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS' BENCH. 



363 



principles of human action in a light different from that 
in which they have presented themselves to my mind. 
To the intelligent and judicious, there need be no fear in 
presenting the views in favor of, and the reasons upon 
which this practice is founded, and to do so without re- 
serve. Let us, then, consider this practice in the influ- 
ence it will have upon the irreligious friends of the man 
who kneels at the altar; in the influence upon his own 
convictions and awakened feelings ; upon the sympathies 
and prayers of the Church. To begin. 

Has he gained nothing in the influence this step will 
have upon his unawakened friends ? So long as the con- 
victions of the heart are unavowed, and no decisive indi- 
cation of a desire to flee the wrath to come is given, the 
irreligious associates of the man will exert themselves to 
divert his mind from seriousness, from salvation ; but 
when they see his tearful eye, and see him kneel at the 
altar, in impressive action asking the prayers of them that 
believe, a new relation is presented — their power over him 
is weakened. They know, they feel it; and they say, 
"He has left us; he is seeking religion; let him go." 

How often has the case occurred, under the ministry of 
the word, while the preacher described the sufferings of 
Christ, and opened up "the great and precious promises" 
of grace, that the young man has felt conviction fasten 
upon his conscience, and the tear drop down his face, 
while he saw rise up before him his own sinful danger, 
and revolved the half-formed purpose to seek salvation ! 
In the midst of "this unwonted tenderness of heart," the 
doxology was sung and the benedictional amen pro- 
nounced ; the multitude, pressing for the door, began to 
retire. He fain would then have passed silently away, 
and mused with his own thoughts, or lifted his wounded, 
spirit in prayer toward heaven ; but friends of other feeling, 
beholding his "serious mood," gathered round him, and by 



364 A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS' BENCH. 

their arts, which all, whether learned or ignorant, know 
too well how to practice, they began their essays to divert 
his mind from seriousness. This step led where he wished 
not to go, and imperceptibly they strove to turn his 
thoughts from himself, from mercy, from " the hope set 
before him.'' If in these covert attempts they failed, how 
often was raillery resorted to ! They charged him with 
melancholy — with having been scared by the preacher. 
To avoid their taunts and reproaches, how often has he 
done violence to his own feelings, affected a cheerfulness 
he did not feel, and drowned all in a false independence ! 
Suppose, now, for illustration, before he retired from the 
Church, he had presented himself at the altar as one con- 
vinced of his sinful danger — as one determined to seek an 
interest in the blood of sprinkling ; and then poured out 
his soul in prayer; would it have no influence to deter 
those otherwise ready to assail him ? They would have 
beheld it at first with surprise ; and finally turned away 
with pity and contempt, saying, " He has joined them ; 
let him go." To have assaulted him under such circum- 
stances, and after such a declaration of his purpose, re- 
quires a hardihood in wickedness not always found. 
Their power over him is lost to a great extent, and their 
taunts and reproaches fail to produce their former effect ; 
for he has thrown off the fear of man, which bringeth 
a snare, and often death. 

If this were all, it would be a great positive gain. But 
is it all? He that thinks so knows but little, very little, 
of the principle of human action. 

Let us, then, consider the influence this step will have 
in giving strength to the man's convictions, and arming 
him against himself. Such is the corruptions of the hu- 
man heart ; its resistance to the drawings of the Holy 
Spirit; its proneness to evil; the facility with which it 
invents excuses for delay and indecision in the things 



A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS' BENCH. 365 

which belong to peace and reconciliation with God, that 
almost every thing is gained when the convictions of the 
heart are aroused. How many are there who "see the 
right and approve it," who "abhor the wrong," and yet 
remain only almost persuaded, not practically choosing 
Christ! " They resolve, and are slain;" are drawn, but 
do not yield; live for months, perhaps ) r ears, in inde- 
cision, and finally lose their convictions and perish. But 
while in this state of "trembling upon the turning point," 
how different might have been the result, if they had 
taken one effective step, which would have armed them 
against themselves, and cut off their retreat again into 
the world ! Let us again recur to our former illustration, 
and, as before supposed, let the man retire from the 
house of God with a wounded spirit, but without any 
manifestation of it, except what is read in the tear which 
swims in his eyes ; without any public declaration of the 
desires which struggle in his heart ; will his convictions 
not be more liable to grow weak and die away by contact 
with the world? Will he not feel himself more at lib- 
erty to yield to temptation ; to pursue his former course ? 
Certainly he will. Instead of this, let him kneel at the 
mourners' bench, saying, in action, "Pray for me;" let 
the children of God lift up their prayers in his behalf; his 
convictions will strike deeper into his heart ; the influence 
arising from the fear of man will be weakened, if not 
destroyed. Having, in this expressive act, said he would 
seek salvation, he has made difficult his retreat again into 
the world, and taken that step which gives decision to a 
long-doubtful purpose ; a step which, while the Spirit 
draws, leads him on to grace and salvation. Historians 
tell us of a certain king who intended to invade and lay 
waste a neighboring state, who resolved not to return 
without prosecuting a successful campaign. In the execu- 
tion of this purpose, that he might supply his soldiers 

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366 A FLEA FOR THE MOURNERS' BENCH. 

with every motive, and destroy all thoughts of a return, 
he caused the bridges to be broken down and the way laid 
waste as they passed. So with the man who approaches 
the altar and kneels as a penitent seeker of salvation : he 
has broken down the bridges, torn up and laid waste the 
way behind him, increased the difficulties of return, and 
placed himself in a new relation to the world and the 
Church. Thus he is supplied with a new motive, while 
the Spirit draws, to press onward— to lay hold on the 
hope set before him. Our fondest, strongest expectations 
for our friends — how often are they blasted! We saw 
them weep, and half turn toward their Father's house ; we 
thought them just ready to enter the kingdom. But, after 
months of solicitude and painful anxiety, we see them 
decline by degrees, and fall back into increased hardness 
of heart. Once it wanted but one decisive act ; now the 
threatening storm of fiery indignation can not move them. 
At that eventful hour when tenderly drawn, had they cast 
themselves before the mercy-seat, saying, "I yield, I 
yield !" and to those around, "What must I do?" how 
different might have been the result ! For want of this, 
many that once were nigh are now far from the kingdom 
of God. 

Again : if man may be profitable to his fellow-man ; if 
prayer is one of the ways in which that profiting may 
manifest itself, and one of the forms of its communication, 
is there not a decided advantage when that man is before 
us in the character of a seeker of salvation ? 

That the believer in Christ may lift up his heart in 
acceptable prayer, asking deliverance for the captive, 
comfort for the mourner, and when none in that character 
is personally and formally before him, has been already 
admitted, and will not by any be controverted. But, from 
the very nature of the case, it must be general, and not 
that deep-felt, specific aid of the prayer of faith which 



A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS ' BENCH. 



367 



seeks mercy and deliverance for the captive, the binding 
up the broken heart of the friend before him. 

That a present object of misery strikes deeper into and 
more powerfully moves the heart than a distant one, is a 
truth, apart from a particular application, no where contro- 
verted. That the interest which it arouses, and the prac- 
tical effort which it calls forth are different, is equally 
allowed. That this principle is not discarded, but admitted 
by all the different sects of Christians, is plain from the 
pressing nature of their exhortations for such to discover 
their convictions to friends, and seek advice. And how it 
comes to be inapplicable in the case we are now consider- 
ing, I can not imagine. There is a strong Christian sym- 
pathy, which enters into the feelings of another's heart, 
and weeps with him that weeps ; a sympathy this, when 
rightly moved, which exerts itself powerfully in another's 
behalf. No one doubts but this passion not only may be, 
but often is aroused, and pours itself forth in strong cries 
and tears for the weary and heavy laden, when none are 
formally around the altar. Still it is and must be general, 
and not that direct act which lays hold upon its present 
object, and holding up before, pleads at the mercy-seat in 
its behalf, the blood of sprinkling. A distant object may 
be described till it fills the imagination and moves the 
heart ; but it is not that intense, active feeling awakened by 
a present object in all its affecting realities. This I take to 
be one of the plainest principles of our common nature. 
Suppose I were to describe the conflagration of a house 
upon the St. John's; tell you the man's property, yea, 
more, his children had perished in the flames. I might 
talk till the heart would melt, and the tear passed down 
the face. But how different the strength and intenseness 
of the feeling when I point you to the flaming mass, and 
let you hear the unavailing shrieks for help; yea, when I 
show you a friend /'a relation, a father, robbed of "his hopes, 



368 



A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS BENCH. 



and a mother frantic with grief! Can any man doubt 
the difference? Surely not. Bring, under the influence 
of religion, this same principle of our nature to bear upon 
the subject we are trying to illustrate. Let it not be 
prayer for penitents in general, but for the contrite spirit 
pleading for mercy in our presence. 

How often have we seen the man rise up bathed in 
tears, and make his way toward the altar ! The very 
sight moved every pious heart, and before he could make- 
half his wav through, the crowd every feeling was united 
with his in sympathy, in prayer for him ; faith, pleading, 
held him up before the throne of grace — struggled for an 
application of the atoning blood in his behalf; their ex- 
hortations encouraged his hopes, while they entered into 
all his feelings, and opened before him promises — great 
and precious promises. Thus they sustained his self- 
despairing spirit, and strengthened his hand to lay hold 
upon the sacrifice of the cross. They knew, they felt 
they had no power to change his heart, to bind the strong 
man and cast him out. But they were like men who 
knew the God whom they served could do what their 
hand was too short to reach ; a God who delighted to 
hear prayer, and had taught them, "The fervent, effectual 
prayer of the righteous" for his fellow-man "availeth 
much." Depending upon the promise of Him who is 
faithful, they were strengthened to look up, to struggle, 
to agonize for him. Thus supported by the prayers of 
the Church, he, burdened, groaned, "0, wretched man! 
who shall deliver?" and when almost overwhelmed with 
despair, he did not sink, but rose with new purposes and 
new expectations. 

Let us now sum up. On the supposition the man is 
never converted at the mourners' bench, but receives the 
witness of the Spirit elsewhere, has he gained nothing by 
the step taken; and is there no sufficient reason to justify 



A PLEA FOR THE MOUKNERS' BE^'CH. 



369 



the Church in giving to the weeping penitent such a press- 
ing invitation ? 

We have endeavored to trace the influence this step 
would have upon the man's unawakened friends, in giving 
strength to his own waving purposes, in arming him 
against himself; its influence upon the sympathies and 
prayers of the Church, in strength and encouragement to 
his own sinking hopes. In all these views he has gained. 
Many other particulars might be adduced which would 
further develop and illustrate this subject. But we 
hasten. 

There is, however, another point of light in which 
this subject should be presented — in which the suppo- 
sition with which we commenced is changed by an appeal 
to the facts often presented. We should wrong our own 
convictions and do injustice to this subject, if we did not 
look at it for a few minutes in that stronger, brighter light 
shed upon it by the facts. Why should w^e stop with the 
supposition the man is never converted at the altar, when 
thousands who knelt there weeping, broken-hearted, 
mourning, have returned rejoicing, giving glory to God ! 

If I am not mistaken, it is the great maxim of the mod- 
ern philosophy, that whatever is not sustained by an 
appeal to facts should be discarded from the list of philo- 
sophic writers ; and whatever is supported by such appeal, 
and proves itself by the practical result, should be em- 
braced, our prejudices to the contrary notwithstanding. 
Adhering closely to the true spirit of our philosophy, let 
us pursue this subject, and, at the last place of which you 
would think, turn philosopher, examine the development, 
and mark the result. Nor will we turn contemptuously 
away because it is the mourners' bench ; nor cry "Enthu- 
siasm!" before we have scrutinized the matter. Still let 
the inquiry be made in that spirit which embraces truth 
wherever found. Here they are around this altar. Now 



370 



A" PLEA FOR THE MOUENERS' BENCH. 



listen to their siafhs ; behold their tears ; the children of 
God melt into tenderness, and, gathering round, "weep 
with them that weep." Who are they? Our parents, 
our children, our friends. With every indication of a 
broken heart, they confess themselves sinners, and plead 
for mercy. Now guard your heart ; do not let your sym- 
pathies be moved. The minister descends from the pulpit, 
and begins to sins', 

" Stay, thou insulted spirit, stay, 
Though I have done thee such despite." 

The singing ended, they get upon their knees, and he 
pours out the fullness of his soul in prayer, in intercession 
for them, till thoughts and utterance fail. The prayer 
ended, they remain upon their knees, and sing, 

" Father, I stretch my hands to thee, 
No other help I know." 

Again they unite in prayer. See, the devotional spirit 
embodies itself, and puts forth new energies; faith, with 
stronger hold, seems to grasp the promise sprinkled with 
atoning blood — to hold up the wounded spirit before the 
throne. The prayer is occasionally interrupted by the 
heart-felt "Amen!" or by the sighs of a heart whose feel- 
ings are too strong to be combined in words, to be ex- 
pressed in language. Yet hope makes beyond utterance 
an effort, and agonizes for deliverance. The prayer 
closes ; they rise, the mourners still kneeling, and in a 
voice tender and inviting, begin to sing : 

"Arise, my soul, arise; 

Shake off thy guilty fears ; 
The bleeding sacrifice 
In my behalf appears ; 
Before the throne my surety stands ; 
My name is written on his hands." 

While they are singing, the Spirit, which had all the while 
mingled with the penitent's tears, and encouraged his 
sinking, seeking hopes, now aids the self-despairing effort 



A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS' BENCH. 371 

of faith, by which, out of himself, and beyond all his 
fears, he lays hold on Christ only for salvation. The 
seraph touches his lips "with the live coal from off the 
altar," and says, " Thy sins are all forgiven thee." The 
Spirit seals the pardon to his heart ; his fetters fall ; his 
prison opens ; the day-star rises in his heart. So powerful 
the change, while the light of Christ breaks and shines 
round him, he looks up, and half involuntarily exclaims, 
"0 Lord! I will praise thee; for thine anger is turned 
away, and now thou comfortest me !" While they con- 
tinue in singing and prayer, another and another claims 
the promise, and feels the blood applied, and breaks forth 
in songs of deliverance. See how the influence spreads — 
how they gather in groups of love, and rejoice together ! 
The father, rejoicing, cries, " My son was dead, but is 
alive again." Something elevates them; they seem to 
have lost sight of the world. How they joy together ! 
All this is but a faint sketch of what we have seen hun- 
dreds of times. Now guard your heart; harden it against 
every feeling, but the one desire to know the truth ; draw 
your mantle closer round you, and let us examine this 
further development. Just now you saw their tears, 
heard their struggling prayers; every expression, every 
act, indicated the anguish of spirit, the grief too great for 
utterance. But now all is changed ; how changed ! 
Where there was only the voice of distress, we hear the 
voice of praise, the song of deliverance ; the very coun- 
tenance beams with a peculiar expression of joy and glad- 
ness ; the face shines. All shows the strong convictions 
of a heart delivered from its fears, its sins. 

This, say you, is strange. It I do not exactly compre- 
hend. There is certainly a great change; but I have 
often heard it asserted that all this was the effect of im- 
agination, of strongly-excited animal sympathy ; and I am 
the more inclined to favor this opinion from the fact that 



372 A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS' BENCH. 

most persons I have seen at the altar were either young 
or those of an excitable make. And I now conjecture, 
when the present feeling shall have spent itself, these per- 
sons will be where and what they were before. I am 
glad this is only suggested. To affirm it, as many do, is 
in the spirit of the Sir Toplings of the day, and is un- 
worthy an inquirer after the truth. It is to throw aside 
the philosopher, and turn witling. Let us, then, still ad- 
here to our principles. It is as repulsive to our philosophy 
to ascribe effect to an inadequate cause as to deny their 
dependence upon a cause. Every effect, says our philos- 
ophy, must have a cause ; and a cause, when exerted, 
sufficient to produce the result. Let us apply these prin- 
ciples to the point we are now considering. If all this is 
imagination and animal feeling, it will soon "go off in 
empty, airy nothingness," and leave the individual in his 
former state. But let us not leap to this conclusion. If 
we make it, let it be by regular steps, not by the cry of 
" Enthusiasm!'' From this place let us follow the man in 
the struggles and dangers of life. If the principle which 
now inspires his joy remains with him ; if it lifts his soul in 
prayer to heaven ; if it sustains his spirit, rejoicing in 
hope amidst the dangers and afflictions of this world; if 
it keeps him humble in prosperity ; and, making allowance 
for the weakness of human nature, presents him the altered 
man, the living Christian ; will all this be charged to im- 
agination? will it be put down to the account of animal 
feeling? If so, it must be happy imagination — potent 
animal feeling. Is this a cause adequate ? Is it sufficient 
to produce the effect? If yes, what more would have 
been done had the man enjoyed the spirit of Christ, and 
been led by that spirit? The fact can not be contro- 
verted ; it is sustained by thousands of living examples. 
Who, then, is the enthusiast? the volunteer in faith? he 
who charges to imagination that which belongs to the vital 



A PLEA FOR THE MOURNERS* BENCH. 



373 



principle of faith, or he who refers to its time-adequate 
cause — the power of Christ? 

Further : if this principle gilds the darkness of death 
with the light of immortality, the rejoicing of hope ; if, 
while death drowns his spirit, steals his breath, he still 
triumphs in victory, "0 death, where is thy sting? 
grave, where is thy victory?" will this all be accounted 
for and explained by crying out, "Imagination, imagina- 
tion ?" Surely not. Did you ever stand at the bedside 
of the dying Christian ? Did you mark his calm, un- 
daunted spirit? Nature sunk under disease, and perhaps 
tortured with strong pain, yet he looked up and said, 

'•Jesus can make a dying bed 
Feel soft as downy pillows are." 

When the world began to recede, to disappear, his coun- 
tenance lit up with an unearthly light. He said, in dying 
whispers, "Heaven opens on my eyes; mine ears with 
sounds seraphic ring;" "Lend, lend your wings; I 
mount, I fly!" He is gone; he is safe, housed at last at 
home. 

Thousands who have loosed from time, who have won 
the victor's palm, have gained the crown, the crown of 
life, first felt the sprinkling of atoning blood at the mourn- 
ers' bench. And while thus owned and blessed of 
Heaven, shall 'we throw it away, as without reason or 
utility ? Xo ; let the profane scoff, and call it ridiculous ; 
we will still maintain the ancient landmarks, clear our 
altar, arrange our benches, and invite as many as we may 
to present themselves for the prayer of the Church, not 
doubting in the day of eternity but thousands will bless 
God they were ever invited to the "mourners' bench." 



374 



PROSPERING OF GOD S WORD. 



SERMON VI. 

BY KEY. JOHN FERREE, 

OF THE OHIO ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 

PROSPERING OF GOD'S WORD P 

" For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and return- 
eth not thither, but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and 
bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall 
my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto 
me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper 
in the thing whereto I sent it," Isaiah lv, 10, 11. 

In this passage the prophet compares the wonderful 
operations of grace to the more mysterious operations of 
nature. The illustration is apt and beautiful. 

I. The God of nature is also the God of grace, ok 

SALVATION. 

He made this earth for the habitation of man and 
ordained the laws by which it is governed. After the 
destruction of the antediluvian race, God promised not to 
" curse the ground any more for man's sake;" for "while 
the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, 
summer and winter, day and night shall not cease/ 9 Gen- 
esis viii, 22. As God has established certain unalterable 
laws for the government of the physical world, so he has 
established certain laws in the moral world, or kingdom 
of grace. God is the author of mind as well as matter. 
The operations of grace may be frequently illustrated by 
the way that God is pleased to operate in the earth, or 
natural world. 

'This sermon is the substance, or outline, of an excellent discourse, 
preached at my third quarterly meeting, in Fulton station, in 1839. The 
reader must bear in mind, this sketch is from brief pencil notes, taken at 
the time of delivery. This will account for any want of unity, or con- 
nected chain of argument, for which our departed brother was characterized. 
It is inserted in the "Offering" at the request of many friends. 



PROSPERING OF GOD'S WORD. 



375 



The "rain and snoio" are the means employed by God 
to beautify the face of nature and produce sustenance for 
man; "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from 
heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, 
and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed 
to the sower, and bread to the eater : so shall my word be 
that goeth forth out of my mouth : it shall not return 
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, 
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Now, 
as the rain and snow, which come down from heaven, 
make the earth fruitful, or, in the language of our text, 
cause "it to bring forth and bud, that it may give seed 
to the sower, and bread to the eater," so shall my word 
not return without success. It shall have the desired 
effect. It shall be fulfilled in the way and manner before 
expressed. It is God that furnishes the mind with ideas 
and thoughts, and the heart of man with suitable moral 
feeling. " The preparation of the heart is," etc. 

"By my word," we are not merely to understand the 
Gospel, but any way in which God is pleased to work, or 
operates on the mind and souls of men. "And there are 
diversities of operations, but it is the same God which 
worketh all in all," 1 Corinthians xii, 6. He spoke to 
Moses, in the land of Midian, in the "burning bush;" to 
Israel on Sinai, in thunderings, and lightnings, and earth- 
quakes ; to the fathers in dark speeches; but in these last 
days God speaks to us by his Son, in the Gospel of peace, 
and by the still small voice of the Holy Ghost. Is the 
rain and snow of heavenly origin? So is the word of God. 
Does it soften, cheer, revive, and make the earth fertile 
and fruitful ? What these are in the natural, God's word 
is in the moral world. The Psalmist says, "Thou visitest 
the earth, and waterest it : thou greatly enrichest it with 
the river of God, which is full of water : thou preparest 
them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. Thou 



376 



PROSPERING OF GOD'S WORD. 



waterest the ridges thereof abundantly : thou settlest the 
furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou 
blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year 
with thy goodness ; and thy paths drop fatness. They 
drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little 
hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with 
flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they 
shout for joy, they also sing," Psalm Ixv, 9-13. How 
striking, truthful, yea, beautiful ! This is God's way in 
the natural world. JSow let us listen to his voice in the 
moral world. " Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak ; 
and hear, earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine 
shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, 
as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers 
upon the grass : because I will publish the name of the 
Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God," Deuteronomy 
xxxii, 1-3. 

If there is any good done on the earth the Lord does 
it. "Nevertheless he left not himself without a witness, 
in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and 
fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness," 
Acts xiv, 17. As the earth would be baiTen and unfruit- 
ful without the snow and rain from heaven, so would the 
heart of man, without the " tvord of God," or the grace 
of Christ. "Without me ye can do nothing." The 
Scriptures constantly assert, it is God that worketh in you, 
both to will and do. A Paul may plant, and Apollos may 
water, but "God giveth the increase" — makes it fruitful. 
It is by grace, through faith, that we are saved. St. 
Paul, in speaking of the saints at Colosse, remarks, "And 
bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day 
ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth," Co- 
lossians i, 6. 

II. Its certainty. 

"So shall my word," etc. We sow in hope, confi- 



PROSPERING OF GOD's WORD. 



377 



dently believing that God will bless our labors and make 
them successful. His word shall not return void ; it shall 
accomplish its design; it shall prosper. "He that goeth 
forth weeping, bearing the precious seed, shall come again 
with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." 

We are too easily discouraged in laboring for the con- 
version of sinners and the reformation of the world. We 
may learn a lesson from the husbandman, who waiteth for 
the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for 
it, till he receive the early and latter rain. We should be 
patient and established, for the coming of the Lord draw- 
eth nigh. 

How sad and dreary would be our earth without the 
rain from heaven in its season ! How doubly wretched 
and miserable the moral world without God's word or 
Gospel! The golden harvest is gathered, the summer 
flowers decay and die, then comes dreary autumn, and 
winter's chilling blast. How gloomy and melancholy the 
scene, and what a striking representation of man's moral 
condition without the grace of God ! But wait with pa- 
tience the opening of spring. The warm rain descends 
upon the earth, the snows gradually melt away, the ice- 
bound streamlet becomes a running brook, nature is 
cheered, revived, vegetation springs up, the forest puts on 
her beautiful livery, and the vernal season is ushered in 
with the appearance of "flowers again upon the earth." 
"The time of the singing of birds has come, and the voice 
of the turtle is heard in our land." So it is under the 
administration of the Spirit of grace. 

The heart once congealed, barren, and fruitless, is quick- 
ened into life, and then appears first the blade, then the 
ear, and after that the full corn in the ear. The blossoms 
of hope and buds of grace are soon brought to maturity; 
the wilderness becomes a fruitful field ; the solitary heart 
glad ; the desert soul rejoices and blossoms like the rose ; 

32* 



378 



PROSPERING OF GOD S WORD. 



yea, it glows with the freshness of Eden and rejoices with 
joy and singing. 

We have the oath and promise of God, " it shall not 
return void." So it always has been, and will continue 
till the whole human race is regenerated ; for 

"What his mouth in truth hath said, 
His own almighty hand shall do." 

But there are difficulties in the minds of some. We pause 
to answer an objection. "If," says one, "the God of 
nature waters all the earth and makes it fruitful, and oper- 
ates the same way in grace, and his word will prosper 
and can not fail, then salvation will be universal ; all will 
finally be saved." We answer, the earth is not now what 
it was when it came from the hands of God. It is defaced 
by sin ; its beauty marred. God said to fallen Adam, 
rt Cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou 
eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles 
shall it bring forth to thee. In the sweat of thy face shalt 
thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground." Now, 
he that will not sow shall not reap in harvest. The rain 
will fall, but the earth will not produce the smiling harvest 
without the co-operation of the husbandman. So God's 
word and Gospel will go out, the rain of mercy and dews 
of grace will fall ; but unless received in good and honest 
hearts it will be unfruitful. "Behold, a sower went forth to 
sow" etc. It shall not return void; but to some it will 
be a savor of death unto death, and to others, of life 
unto life. Some will not believe — "receive grace of God 
in vain." All of God's blessings may be abused. The 
rain is designed as a blessing ; but water drowned the old 
world. So the river is a blessing; but if you jump into 
it you will be drowned. God's word and Gospel is a 
blessing; but it must be believed and obeyed. If we 
fight against it we are ruined eternally. "He that be- 
lie veth not shall be damned." Amen! 



DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 379 



SERMON VII. 

BY REV. RUSSEL BIGELOW, 

OF THE OHIO ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 

DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE.- 

" For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dis- 
solved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal 
in the heavens," 2 Corinthians v, 1. 

There is one event which happeneth to all men — to the 
rich and to the poor, to the high and to the low, to the 
learned and to the unlearned, to the old and to the young, 
to the wicked and to the righteous— from which event 
neither riches nor poverty, learning nor ignorance, age nor 
youth, honor nor dishonor, wickedness nor righteousness 
can save or deliver the sons of men. All must die ! "It is 
appointed unto men once to die;" and "there is no dis- 
charge in this war." "The earthly house of this taber- 
nacle must be dissolved." Man must go to his long home, 
and the "mourners go about the streets." It may be 
inquired, "If the righteous must die as well as the 
wicked ; if they must feel the agonizing throes of death ; 
if they must be torn away from mourning, weeping friends 
by the relentless hand of the King of terrors, where is the 
advantage of being righteous? What privileges do the 
righteous enjoy that the unrighteous do not realize ?" My 
text, which expresses the confidence, and presents to view 
the bright, the pleasing, the opening prospects of a man 
of God, is a sufficient answer. Fancy before your eyes 
the afflicted, the dying pilgrim. See his fever-scorched, 

*This sermon is the substance of a funeral discourse on the death of 
Rev. Alexander Cummins, preached in the old Stone Chapel, Cincinnati, 
September 28, 1823. 



380 DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 

his pain-racked, his weather-beaten, his age-worn, his 
much-diseased and wasted system ! Behold the face which 
has turned so pale, and view those eyeballs roll with 
deathly glare ; yet see the heavenly smile, and hear, in 
accents sweet, yet firm and weighty, "I know that if the 
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved !" etc. 
In the discussion of this subject on this occasion, I shall 

I. Consider the earthly house of this tabernacle 

AND ITS DISSOLUTION. 

II. Consider the knowledge expressed in the text. 

III. The character, life, and death of our beloved 

BROTHER. 

I. Consider the earthly house of this tabernacle, 

AND ITS DISSOLUTION. 

By the earthly house of this tabernacle, we are to un- 
derstand the body, in which the soul is represented as 
dwelling or sojourning. 

1. It is called a house, 

(1.) In reference to its peculiar workmanship. What 
symmetry ! what order ! what a manifestation of heavenly 
skill ! 

(2.) Because it is a place of habitation. It is there the 
soul, the better principle, dwells in a way unknown to us. 

2. It is called an "earthly house," 

(1.) Because it was formed out of the dust. "And 
the Lord God formed man out of the ground, and breathed 
into his nostrils the breath of life." 

(2.) Because it derives its nourishment or support from 
the earth. 

(3.) Because it tends to earth. "Dust thou art, and 
unto dust," etc. 

3. It is called the earthly house of this tabernacle. This 
implies that it is a temporary establishment, of short con- 
tinuance in its present form ; that it is easily taken down, 
and its parts separated. It is probable the apostle alludes 



DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 38 i 

to the ancient Jewish tabernacle, which was dissolved, or 
taken to pieces, when Israel moved or journeyed. And 
the ark of the covenant, covered with its own curtains, 
w T as carried by itself, and when they came to the place of 
rest the dissolved parts were put together again. 

(1.) The tabernacle was formed of different materials; 
.so the body is composed of different elements. 

(2.) The tabernacle was of limited or short duration; 
so are our bodies. 

(3.) The ark of the covenant subsisted by itself, when 
the tabernacle was taken down; so will the soul when 
separated from the body. 

(4.) The tabernacle was but a representation of the 
established temple, or house, that was to be built, in which 
the ark should have a stated residence ; so the body is 
but a representation of the glorified body with which our 
souls are to be united, and in which they will rest. 

4. The dissolution of this tabernacle. 

(1.) The nature of this dissolution. 

First. The union existing between the soul and body 
shall be done away. 

Second. The body itself shall be decomposed, and 
molder to its mother earth. 

(2.) Its certainty. We must all die. 

First. The Scriptures declare it: "Unto dust shalt thou 
return." We must needs die, and are as water spilt on 
the ground. "It is appointed unto man once to die." 

Second. The death of all the preceding generations, 
and of many of the present generation, proves it. 

(3.) The pains and changes we feel in our own systems 
are portentous of our approaching dissolution ; and let it be 
remarked and kept in mind, that no age nor situation is ex- 
empt. Where are the rich who lived in the lap of plenty — 
who heaped up shining dust beyond the power of com- 
putation ? Have their riches saved them ? No ; they 



382 



DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 



Lave left them all behind; it may be to be wasted by the 
hand of prodigality. Where are the men of honor and 
renown, who swayed their scepter, and at whose nod sur- 
rounding thousands bowed and trembled? Where is he 
who wished a second world to conquer? or he whose fury 
blazed in flaming volumes from the plains of Moscow, 
while surrounding kings began to tremble on their shining- 
thrones ? Where are the scientific, who soared among the 
shining stars and marked the distance from world to 
world? or where the wise philosopher, whose philosophic 
skill has written his name on rolls of fame ? or where the 
wise ontologist, whose metaphysical researches have placed 
him high in rank? or where the wise anatomist, the in- 
genious linguist, and the famed historian? Where are 
the poor and ignorant, who groveled for a little time and 
passed away ? Where are the men who saw nine hundred 
passing years? or where those noble youths, whose bloom- 
ing cheek and sparkling eye did seem to whisper immor- 
tality? Where are your husbands or your wives, your 
parents or your children? where, I say? Methinks 
the stretched-out arm, the pointing finger, direct my eye 
to turfy graveyards, or places of deposit, while the start- 
ing tear, the solemn look, the unutterable groan conspire 
to tell me they are dead. And must we die ? Yes, die 
we must ! In vain do weeping friends attempt to stay the 
hand of Death by groans and tears. Ah ! could the tears 
of a bereaved companion, the groans of children now 
made fatherless, or the sorrows of the Church now clad 
in mourning, have moved the monster, Death, to pity, I 
should have been saved from the painful task I now per- 
form. 

But why must we die? What is the procuring cause of 
death? Did God create man mortal? Did he design we 
should feel the agonizing throes of death if man had 
never sinned? We answer, no! Such an assumption 



DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 383 

would cast a shade over the character of God. It is true 
that some, who even profess a belief in revelation, sub- 
scribe to this absurd idea. But with such, let -the voice 
of God's unperverted truth decide. It was not till man 
sinned that the decree went forth, "Dust thou art," etc. 
The language of St. Paul is unequivocal; its force can 
not be evaded: "By man came death." Again: "By 
one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;' , 
so death has passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. 
Here, sin is presented as the procuring cause of death, and 
death as the effect of sin. 

No effect can exist without the cause which produced 
it. It can not exist prior to such cause as produced it. 
It is certain if sin had never existed, death would never 
have been known in our realms. 

But some who have become wise above what is written, 
have argued that we can take nothing from its fountain 
but what must return to it again. Man was taken from 
the dust, and hence must have returned to dust if he had 
never sinned. But see how much more there is here in 
the conclusion than in the premises ! The premise is, that 
we can take nothing from its fountain but what will return 
to it again. What is the conclusion? Therefore God 
can not. How absurd and illogical ! It was not man that 
took man from the dust, nor is it man that is to keep him 
from returning. It is God. To make this argument a 
sound one, it should be stated thus : God can take nothing: 
from its fountain but must return thither again. God took 
man from the dust, and, therefore, to dust he must return. 
But who possesses effrontery to admit the premises? To 
argue that man would have died had he never sinned, 
would be to argue that God has changed, or that his pres- 
ent design concerning the same character is entirely op- 
posed to his former design, or that he purposed two de- 
signs at one and the same time, in opposition to each 



384 DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 



other — a design to create and a design to destroy. It 
ma)- be urged that he does not design the death of the 
same person he created. True, but they are not in the 
same situation. An immutable principle may change its 
relations and dealings with a mutable object. The sun 
now shines upon our earth ; but in a few hours darkness 
w r ill surround us. But what will be the cause? Will the 
sun change its nature or its position? No; it is the earth 
that changes. Were the earth to cease to move, and then 
the light cease to shine, it would argue a change in the 
nature or position of the sun. God's change of dealings 
w r ith us demonstrates no change in him. It is man that 
has changed. It was holy man that God created ; but it 
is unholy and sinful man that must die! . . . Death, how 
solemn ! How affecting the thought ! Nothing can pre- 
vent its approach or save us from falling victims to its 
power. But amid its gloom and desolation, how consoling 
the doctrine of the text: "For we do know," etc. 

II. The knowledge expressed. 

What is implied ? 

1 . The immortality of the soul. 

The phraseology implies the existence of a principle su- 
perior to the tabernacle. Revelation declares and reason 
admits it. The origin of the soul ; its mighty powers, 
noble faculties ; its activity when the body lies inactive ; 
the insufficiency of earthly objects to supply its wants; 
its joys and conscious fears, all conspire to prove its future 
and eternal existence. 

"Whence this pleasing hope? this fond desire? 
This longing after immortality? 
Or, whence this secret dread and inward horror 
Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul 
Back on herself, and startles at destruction 9 
'Tis the divinity that stirs within us; 
'Tis heaven itself that points out a hereafter, 
And intimates eternity to man. 
The soul, secure in her existence, smiles 



DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 385 

At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. 
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself 
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years; 
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, 
Unhurt amidst the war of elements, 
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds." 

2. The resurrection of the body. 

When we consider this simile in connection with the 
resurrection of the body, which St. Paul treats of in 
these epistles, we shall see that he looks forward to that 
glorious period when this natural body shall be raised a 
spiritual body, and this mortal shall put on immortality. 
How consoling the thought, that although death may gain 
a present victory over our bodies, we have a certain hope 
of future conquest ! He who bound the monster to his 
chariot wheels, proclaims to all his saints, "0 death, I will 
be thy plagues! grave, I will be thy destruction!" 
Death shall one day lose his sting, the grave her boasted 
triumph; "for we know that if our earthly house of this 
tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a 
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 

" To be clothed upon," etc. Some think that this refers 
to a certain celestial vehicle with which God invests holy 
souls on their dismissal from the body. Others suppose 
it relates to the resurrection body. And some imagine 
that it relates merely to the state of blessedness which 
the saints shall possess in the kingdom of glory. A 
learned commentator supposes that "to be clothed," sig- 
nifies to be surrounded, covered, or invested with any 
thing. Therefore, "to be clothed upon with our house" 
may signify any particular qualities of the soul. When 
St. Paul speaks of "earnestly desiring to be clothed upon 
with our house which is from heaven," he certainly means 
that the great concern of every genuine follower of Christ 
should be to be fully prepared to enjoy the beatific vision 
of their Redeemer, that durable and excellent state of 

33 



386 DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 

glory which shall be enjoyed by all the faithful followers 
of our Lord. 

3. It is a building of God. 

4. It is in the heavens. 

5. It is eternal in the heavens. 

It is a building of God fitted up for the reception and 
enjoyment of his faithful children. It is in the heavens, 
the kingdom of eternal glory, where angels dwell and God 
resides. It is a country where health abounds. The in- 
habitants are never sick. No poisonous gases float in the 
atmosphere of heaven. The waters are not impregnated 
with the seeds of death. They are truly the waters of 
life, and flow from under the throne of God clear as crys- 
tal. There the wicked cease from troubling and the weary 
be at rest. Death and poverty never enter that glorious 
eity. All tears shall be forever wiped away by the hand 
of Zion's Prince. But this house is not only in the 
heavens, but is " eternally " there. This completes the 
climax ; this crowns the whole. blissful thought 1 
heavenly prospect ! 

"When we've been there ten thousand years, 
Bright shining as the sun; 
We've no less days to sing God's praise, 
Than when we first begun." 

Let us repeat eternal in the heavens, and pass to notice 

Lastly. The nature of this knowledge. 

(1.) A general or theoretical knowledge. "We know." 
We all know, or may know, from the united voice of rea- 
son and revelation, that there is such a state of blessed- 
ness prepared for all the faithful. But 

(2.) This knowledge is particular and experimental. 
M We know;" that is, you know, and I know. It is founded 
on a knowledge of our acceptance with God. We know 
that " whereas we were once blind we now see;". "There- 
fore being justified by faith we have peace;" "There is, 
therefore, now no condemnation to them who are in Christ 



DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 387 

Jesus;" "And the Spirit itself beareth witness with our 
spirits that we are the children of God;" "If children, 
then heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.' ' 
Then "we know that we are of God;" born of God; 
accepted through the Beloved. We are assured, then, by 
the Spirit, that "there remaineth a rest for the people of 
God." We have an earnest of this glorious inheritance 
by the Spirit. It also assures our hearts "we have a 
building of God; a house not made with hands;" a 
"mansion above." And now we have a foretaste of im- 
mortal joys, and may unite to sing with the poet : 

"This I do find, we two are so joined, 
He'll not live in glory and leave me behind." 

III. I was to notice the character, life, and death of the 
Rev. Alexander Cummins, whose lifeless body now lies 
before us. Brother Cummins was a native of Virginia, 
and born in 1787. In early life he was married, and sub- 
sequently emigrated to Ohio, and settled near the Scioto 
river. While residing at that place, he was awakened by 
the Spirit of God, and, after struggling for some months, 
was happily converted at a prayer meeting. He was now 
in the twenty-first year of his age. Not long after his 
conversion he was called to preach the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ. He saw the world lying in wickedness, and he 
also saw a fullness in the Gospel. He had tasted of its 
sweetness, and desired others to share the same rich bless- 
ings. Such was the nature of his exercises, his piety, and 
gifts, that his brethren soon perceived that the Lord had 
called him to the work of the ministry. They considered 
that the circumstances justified them in supposing that the 
Holy Ghost was now addressing the Church, saying, "Set 
apart Alexander for the work whereunto I have called 
him." He was first licensed as a local preacher, and in 
this capacity he officiated for about twelve months. In 
the fall of 1809 he joined the itinerancy at the first con- 



388 DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 

ference held in this city, fourteen years ago. This was 
two years after his conversion to God. He traveled regu- 
larly for five years, during which time he suffered many 
inconveniences and endured many privations. He labored 
so faithfully and regularly day and night that he injured 
his constitution, and had to retire from the work for one 
year, during which time he employed his time in school- 
teaching. But as soon as he regained his strength, he 
returned to the field again, and was appointed as preacher 
in charge of the Miami circuit, which, at that time, was 
very large and laborious. The two following years he 
was stationed in this city, and the three following he was 
presiding elder on the Kentucky district. At the close of 
his labors in Kentucky he returned to the Ohio confer- 
ence, and was appointed presiding elder on the Miami 
district, where he has spent the past two years of his 
ministry and ended his labors and his life. 

Alexander Cummins was a man of sound and good 
judgment, especially in spiritual and divine things. He 
took great pains to improve his mind by " giving attend- 
ance to reading." He was a close student. As an ac- 
quaintance, he was agreeable and kind; as a husband, 
affectionate and provident ; as a parent, tender yet strict 
and impartial ; and as a Christian, humble, pious, sober, 
yet cheerful. As an itinerant minister, he was zealous, 
punctual, acceptable, and useful. His sermons, in gen- 
eral, were correct, pointed, and weighty. His talents 
were not of the brilliant kind. Hence, he did not shine 
in the first sermon like many who were his inferiors ; but 
his stronghold was his variety. Such was his skill in 
handling the word of God, his uprightness and zeal, his 
success and usefulness, that at the close of the year, or 
even a longer period, few, if any, were more acceptable 
than brother Cummins. His success was more than falls 
to the lot of many during the first years of their ministry. 



DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 389 

The first information I received concerning him was at 
the close of his third year in the traveling ministry. Nine 
years after this I traveled in the same region of country, 
where his praise was still in all the Churches, and where I 
also found many of his spiritual children still on their way 
to Mount Zion. 

My personal acquaintance commenced with our de- 
ceased brother in the latter end of the year 1815, at which 
time we were appointed to labor together on the Miami 
circuit. I was young and inexperienced; but in him I 
found a father, an instructor, a governor, and a nurse. 
Long shall I remember his kind instruction and the pious 
example set before me by the beloved man of God, whose 
funeral sermon I am now trying to preach. He labored 
that year with zeal and success. His zeal, piety, and use- 
fulness the two following years, while stationed in this place, 
I need not more than mention. You, my brethren, are his 
record. You can call to recollection his piety, his devo- 
tion, his fervor, his diligence, his zeal, his watchfulness, 
his anxiety, his pathetic sermons, his prevailing prayers. 
You can call to recollection the happy hours you enjoyed 
under his ministry ; and many of you consider him the 
instrumental cause of your conversion. You view him as 
your spiritual father under God, and will have cause to 
praise God while eternity shall endure that you had the 
privilege of sitting under his ministry. The three years 
he labored as presiding elder in Kentucky he was, as far 
as I can learn, acceptable and useful — highly esteemed by 
preachers and people. His rides were long, and, in some 
parts, rough and mountainous, and his labors abundant, 
which proved highly injurious to his debilitated system. 
The district where he has traveled the past two years is 
also large and laborious. He performed his duties accept* 
ably and usefully, but with great pain, often traveling and 
preaching when he ought to have rested, particularly for 

33* 



390 DISSOLUTION OF THE earthly tabernacle. 

the last six months, and when more frequent rest would 
have been beneficial. 

I have already said considerable concerning our de- 
parted brother ; but I can not forbear mentioning his wis- 
dom and firmness as an administrator in the Church. It 
was here he excelled; here his true greatness fully 
appeared. He was not hasty or rash, but firm and fixed. 
He was mild and easy in his manners ; but, when sure he 
was right, was always firm, and the more unmovable 
when severely opposed. He removed difficulties and 
delivered the Church from burdens under which it had 
long groaned. I have been acquainted with but few that 
I considered his equals in Church government. 

His patience in affliction and perseverance through dif- 
ficulties were remarkable. His weakly constitution, which 
was severely racked with incessant labors, was often 
attacked with wasting disease ; but he bore it all patiently 
and without a murmur. He had a severe attack of 
measles about six months ago, which seemed to threaten 
his dissolution ; but, by the Divine blessing, he partially 
recovered, and entered into the work ; and I think it prob- 
able his exertion before he was entirely restored to health 
was one cause of bringing on the disease which termin- 
ated his earthly career. He visited the circuit of which 
I had charge a short time before attacked with his last 
sickness. He seemed as diligent and fervent as ever, 
although not able to labor much. He left our camp 
meeting on Sabbath evening, and came home, and on the 
following Friday rode out to Mechanicsburg, about eight- 
een miles from this, to attend a quarterly meeting, and 
on Saturday preached his last sermon, with his usual zeal 
and pathos, on these words : "I am not ashamed of the 
Gospel of Christ ; for it is the power of God unto salva- 
tion to every one that believeth." How appropriate! 
That night he was attacked with a fatal malady, which 



DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 391 

severed the soul from the body. He was brought home 
in a wagon and laid on his bed, where he remained for 
eight weeks, a man of suffering. But he bore all without 
a murmur. He was very grateful for every kindness 
shown him, and appeared calm and resigned. He said 
but little about dying; neither did he shout and rejoice as 
some have done. It was not his way when in health. 
But what he did say was satisfactory. To one friend he 
said, while sick, he had no anxiety about living, but would 
like to live till he could settle his temporal business, if it 
was the will of the Lord. He could do it better than any 
one else, and this would save trouble ; but he was willing 
to resign all into the hands of the Lord. I visited him 
one week before his death for the first time, and several 
times afterward. On one of my visits I conversed with 
him respecting the state of his mind. He appeared com- 
posed and resigned, and said that his peace was made 
with God. A brother who attended him inquired of him, 
a few hours before his death, if he was sensible that he 
would soon depart. He replied that he was, and should 
soon be in eternity. The brother asked him if he had any 
doubts or fears. He replied, "Not any ; my way is clear " 
The solemn hour drew nigh. His weeping companion, 
sorrowful children, and mourning neighbors surrounded 
his bed. His pulse beat slow and faint; his breath be- 
came shorter and shorter still, till twenty minutes before 
seven o'clock, when he ceased to breathe. Thus lived 
and thus died our beloved brother Cummins — a pattern of 
piety, a waymark to heaven. We do not mean to say he 
had no failings ; but we do say, they were comparatively 
few, " He now rests from his labors, and his works do 
follow him." The toilsome strife is now over. His ran- 
somed spirit is no longer clogged with diseased mortality. 
His better principle dwells with God in paradise ; and it 
now remains for us to prepare to meet him. 



392 DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 

We shall now make some application, and close. 

1. We have seen that we must all die; that there is no 
exception ; and that we must soon die. 

2. We have seen that there is another state of things ; 
that we possess immortal souls ; and that there is a state 
of glory prepared for us ; but we have also seen that, in 
order to enjoy it, we must obtain a preparation ; we must 
form an acquaintance with our Redeemer. How import- 
ant that we set about the work, and that we commence 
immediately ! We have also had presented to our view 
the character, life, and death of a beloved minister, to 
encourage and stimulate us to pursue the path of piety. 
And suffer me now, in the close, to make some particular 
addresses. 

(1.) To the bereaved sister and fatherless children, 
You, my sister, are truly called to mourn. Your loss is 
no ordinary loss. The companion of your youth, the 
partner of your joys and woes, has gone and left you. 
His important business has called him much from home ; 
you have been deprived of his society. Rivers, hills, and 
mountains have frequently separated you ; but you have 
always expected his return. The sound of his voice, or 
the joyful exclamation of a rejoicing child informed you 
of his approach. He will return no more ; no gladdened 
child will proclaim, " Pa is returning !" But dry up your 
tears : your companion has gone to glory, to dwell with his 
Father and your Father. He awaits your arrival. Your 
separation will not be of long continuance. The same 
shining company that has conveyed his spirit to glory may 
soon be commissioned to come after you. Endeavor to be 
always ready. My young friends, you also have cause for 
mourning. Your father and friend has gone, never to 
return to you again. You will no more see his face nor 
hear his voice in this world ; you will no more be favored 
with his advice or counsels. Call the past to your recol- 



DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE . 393 

lection, and let them live in your minds and influence 
your future conduct. Your father has gone to his heav- 
enly Father, to dwell in a better world. You must be 
good, and strive to meet him there. 

(2.) My fathers and brethren in the ministry. We are 
also called to mourn and weep. Our beloved brother and 
fellow-laborer has gone and left us. We shall no more 
hear his voice in the pulpit nor in our conference. We 
shall be aided by his wisdom and firmness no more. His 
seat but few can fill. Let us pray that a double portion 
of the spirit of our departed Elijah may fall on some sur- 
viving Elisha. While we mourn, let us rejoice in hope. 
Our brother has exchanged the toils of the ministry and 
afflictions of this world for a crown of glory — for "a 
house not made with hands." 

(3.) Brethren who are members of other Churches. We 
ask you to mourn with us ; for, although you may not feel 
the loss we have sustained as sensibly as we do, yet, 
without doubt, you all feel that a fellow -embassador has 
fallen from the walls of Zion. But while we ask you to 
mourn with us, we ask you to rejoice with us, in hope of 
that glory which shall be revealed when Ave shall see our 
departed brother again, and enjoy his society forever. 

(4.) Brethren of the laity. You are not only called to 
mourn the loss of a minister, but a dearly-beloved min- 
ister — your former pastor, under whose ministry you have 
sat for a number of years with great delight. He has 
gone ; your pastor is dead ; your spiritual father has left 
you. You will no more see him stand in this pulpit; you 
will no more hear his voice in this world. Call to recol- 
lection the many sermons you have heard him preach, the 
many exhortations he has given you, the many prayers 
he has offered up for you, and strive to meet him in glory. 
Then shall those of you who have been awakened under 
his ministry "be stars in his crown of rejoicing" forever; 



394 DISSOLUTION OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE. 

and you shall all unite with him to sing the wonders of 
redeeming grace forever. 

(5.) My brethren of other denominations. You know 
how to feel for us. You have been called to mourn the 
loss of ministers to whom you were attached. Well, 
while we weep let us rejoice ; we shall soon hail them and 
be crowned with them ; we shall soon unite in one body to 
praise the "three-one" God, and part no more forever. 

I look over this large and attentive audience, and I see 
sorrow depicted in almost every countenance; but it is 
mixed with joy. Methinks, while they mourn with us 
they are constrained to believe that the minister whose 
voice they have so often heard has gone to glory; and, 
while they thus believe, they indulge a wish to be with 
him when they die. I am happy to have it in my power 
to inform you, my hearers, that it is your privilege. 
Jesus, to whom your attention was so often directed by 
this deceased minister, still lives to intercede and to have 
compassion. Have you not been faithfully warned and 
lovingly invited by this departed minister? How often 
has he called after you, with tears, and bleeding lungs, 
and shattered voice, in vain ! You shall see him no more ; 
you shall no more hear his voice ; he will never again 
direct you to the bleeding Lamb. And shall the sermons 
he has preached to you, and the exhortations he has given 
you, and the prayers he has offered up for you, rise to 
condemn you ? Shall he who now sleeps before you wit- 
ness against you? And will any of you be parted from 
him, and the saints and angels, and Jesus Christ forever? 
0, let me warn you on this occasion, and entreat you to 
seek salvation ! Prepare to meet your God, that, when 
you come to die, you may be able to say, " We know that 
if the earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we 
have a building of God, a house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens. 99 



THE FLOOD IMPROVED. 



395 



SERMON VIII. 

BY REV. RUSSEL BI GEL Of, 

OF THE OHIO ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 

THE FLOOD IMPROVED. 

" And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it 
grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I 
have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the 
creeping things, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have 
made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord," Gen. vi, 6-8. 

The Scriptures are a peculiar fund of instruction — an 
excellent source of information — from which we may 
obtain information respecting the past, the present, and the 
future. The things which were written aforetime were 
written for our learning, that we might understand the 
things which belong to our peace. From those Scriptures 
which inform us of God's dealings with ancient nations 
and individuals, we may learn what course we ought to 
pursue in order to escape his wrath and enjoy his favor ; 
and simply from the extraordinary event to which we are 
directed in the text, we may learn some very important 
and useful lessons. In the discussion of this subject I 
shall 

I. Attempt to give some explanation of the remark- 
able EVENT SPOKEN OF IN THE TEXT AND SHOW ITS CERTAINTY, 

II. Consider the cause and propriety of this remark- 
able DISPENSATION. 

III. Notice some important lessons we are thereby 

TAUGHT. 

1. (1.) The way the flood was created. The foundation 
of the great deep was broken up, and all the aqueous 
vapors which were suspended in the whole atmosphere 
were precipitated. The water seems to have covered the 



396 



THE FLOOD IMPROVED. 



earth at the first, and was separated from the earth that 
the dry land might appear. The waters returned to their 
places. "God," says the Psalmist, "has laid up the 
deep in store-houses and now he broke up those stores. 
God had "set bars and doors to the waters of the sea that 
they might not return to cover the earth;" and now he 
removed those bars and doors. " God binds up the waters 
in his thick clouds; the thick cloud is not rent under 
them;" but now the bond was loosed; the cloud was 
rent; and such rains descended as were never known 
before or since. 

The progress of philosophical knowledge has greatly 
weakened the objection urged by infidels. " Philosophy 
has found out," says a learned writer, "that there is suf- 
ficiency of water in the ocean. The mere raising the tem- 
perature of the ocean to no greater degree than that in 
which marine animals live in the shallows between the 
tropics, would so expand it as more than to produce the 
hight above the mountains stated in the Mosaic account. 

(2.) Its remarkable and destructive character. 

(3.) The preservation of Noah in the ark with one pair 
of unclean beasts and seven pairs of clean beasts. The 
ark was three hundred cubits ; that is, four hundred and 
fifty or five hundred and forty- seven feet long, seventy - 
five or ninety-one feet wide, and forty-five or fifty-four 
feet high. 

2. The certainty. 

(1.) The Scriptures give an account of it. 

(2.) Traditions of the heathen nations confirm it. 

First. Josephus says, in his book against Appion, that 
the barbarians admitted the deluge, and that Berous, the 
Chaldean historian, relates, in a manner similar to Moses, 
the history of the flood. 

Second. In Abydeni's History of Assyria mention is 
made of an ancient who was forewarned of a deluge, 



THE FLOOD IMPROVED. 



397 



The ship, the birds, the abating of the waters, and the 
resting of the ship on the mountains are all mentioned. 

Third. Lucian mentions the Syrian tradition of the 
wickedness of the antediluvians, the piety of Noah — or 
Deucalion — the ark, and the bringing into it the beasts of 
earth by pairs. 

Fourth. The ancient Persian traditions, as Dr. Hyde has 
shown, though mixed with fable, have a substantial agree- 
ment with the Mosaic account. 

Fifth. In Hindostan the ancient poem of the Bhagarut 
treats of a flood which destroyed all mankind, except a 
pious prince. 

Sixth. The Chinese writers also make mention of a uni- 
versal flood. 

Seventh. In the legends of the ancient Egyptian Goths 
and Druids striking references are made to the same event. 

Eighth. The natives of Otaheite believed that the world 
was torn to pieces by the anger of their gods. 

Ninth. The inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands have a 
tradition that the Etooa, who created the world, afterward 
destroyed it by an inundation, and recollections of this 
event are preserved among the New Zealanders. 

Tenth. When the Spaniards first visited America they 
found a tradition among the natives that the world had 
once been destroyed by a flood, and that the present race 
of men had sprung from four women. 

(3.) There are various traces of the flood in different 
places. Philosophy acknowledges that the present sur- 
face of the earth must have been submerged under water. 
"Not only." says Kirwan, "in every region of Europe, 
but also of both the old and new continents, immense 
quantities of marine shells, either dispersed or collected, 
have been discovered. The violent action of water has 
left its traces in various undisputed phenomena. Stratified 
mountains, of various bights, exist in different parts of 

34 



398 



THE FLOOD IMPROVED. 



Europe and of both continents, in and between whose 
strata various substances of marine and some vegetables 
of terrestrial origin repose, either in their natural state or 
petrified. To overspread the plains of the arctic circle with 
the shells of Indian seas, and with the bodies of elephants 
and rhinoceroses, surrounded by masses of submarine vege- 
tation ; to accumulate on a single spot, as at La Bolen, in 
promiscuous confusion, the marine productions of the four 
quarters of the globe: what conceivable instrument would 
be efficacious but the * rush of mighty waters?' " These 
facts, about which there is no dispute, and which are 
acknowledged by the advocates of each of the prevailing 
geological theories, give a sufficient attestation to the del- 
uge of Noah, in which the fountains of the great deep 
were broken up, and from which precisely such phenom- 
ena might be expected. 

II. The cause and propriety of this remarkable dis- 
pensation. 

1. Sin was the cause of the destruction of the wicked. 

2. Righteousness was the cause of the preservation of 
Noah and his family. 

3. It was right and proper to distinguish between vice 
and virtue. 

(1.) Sin merited punishment; it was just. 

(2.) It was calculated to teach posterity. 

(3.) The destruction of beasts was necessary in order 
to the safety of the few human beings who were pre- 
served. 

III. The lessons we are taught. 

1. We may form some acquaintance with the character 
of God. He is merciful and just. 

2. We are taught that God will preserve the righteous 
in every situation. 

3. We discover the proneness of man to be embold- 
ened in iniquity when sentence is not speedily executed. 



CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. 



399 



4. Though God bear long with the wicked, he will ulti- 
mately destroy the incorrigible with a sore destruction. 
Improvement. 

1 . Saints may derive abundant comfort from this sub- 
ject, 

2. Penitent mourners may derive encouragement. 

3. But impenitent sinners should be greatly alarmed ; 
for if God spared not the old world, but brought a flood 
upon the ungodly, surely the wicked of this age should 
be alarmed. 



SEEMON IX. 

BY REV. ALEXANDER MORROW, 

OF THE OHIO ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 

CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. 

" I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless, I live ; yet not I, hut Christ 
liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith 
of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me," Gal. n, 20. 

1 . The nature of the crucifixion spoken of in the text. 
Crucifixion was the ancient mode of putting to death 
the most flagitious offenders — a mode of punishment the 
most painful and shameful ; and none but the worst of 
criminals and the vilest of slaves were put to death in this 
way. Thus, in the economy of redemption, our Lord 
Jesus Christ, by an infinite stoop of condescension, hum- 
bled himself, and became obedient to death, even the 
death of the cross. So, in like manner, we are to be cru- 
cified with him ; for, if we be dead with him, we believe 
we shall also live with him. The crucifixion which we 
must endure is not literal, or a putting to death of the 
body — for the apostle says, "I live" — but is to be un- 
derstood in a moral sense, implying the destruction of the 
carnal mind, the body of sin. 



400 



CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. 



Man, by nature, is very far gone from original right- 
eousness. His whole moral nature is corrupt and unholy. 
Every property and quality of the soul is polluted and 
vitiated by sin, and all the attributes of the soul con- 
trolled by the power of sin. All rise up, in proud defi- 
ance, against God and his law. The apostle declares the 
carnal mind to be " enmity against God; not subject to 
the law of God, nor, indeed, can be." In this depraved 
condition he is unfit to enjoy communion with his God, or 
to associate with the pure and holy, either on earth or in 
heaven. Hence, in order to enjoy fellowship with God 
and be prepared for heaven, he "must be born again," 
and renewed in the spirit of his mind. 

To effect this change, the Spirit of God visits him, dis- 
covers to him his sin and danger, awakens his slum- 
bering spirit to see and feel its peril, producing that sor- 
row for sin that leads to unfeigned repentance. A fearful 
apprehension of danger pervades his whole soul, and he 
cries out, in the bitterness of his heart, "0, wretched 
man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of 
this death?" 

He now begins to crucify the flesh, with the affections 
and lusts. The keen arrows of conviction pierce his 
inmost soul, causing him to feel that it is a bitter thing to 
sin against God. In the hour of darkness, distress, and 
danger, he is directed to the cross as his only refuge ; and 
as he gazes on the bleeding victim, his faith gathers 
strength ; deep contrition humbles him ; a flood of tender- 
ness fills his soul; and he believes, and is saved. Days 
and weeks pass, and his peace flows as a river ; but ere- 
long, however, he feels the motions of inbred sin, "roots 
of bitterness springing up, troubling him," and he enters 
upon a warfare of extermination, resolving to crucify 
every carnal affection and lust. Thus the old man is to 
be crucified — the body of sin destroyed. He is now dead 



CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. 



401 



to sin. Sin has no more dominion over him. The heart 
is renewed ; the temple purged. The will is rectified ; the 
conscience purged ; the passions and tempers, sanctified, 
flow in their appropriate channels, and are directed to 
their legitimate results: ' ' Their fruit is unto holiness, and 
the end everlasting life." 

Christ now takes up his abode in that heart. Hence, 
says the apostle, " Christ liveth in me." Then have we 
light in our dwellings, and light on our pathway ; light on 
all our duties ; light on all the dispensations of Provi- 
dence. If Christ lives in us, then have we wisdom to dis- 
cover danger; we are wise to detect error and subtile 
temptations ; wise in devising means of defeating our 
adversary and overcoming difficulties. He will give us a 
mouth and wisdom that all our adversaries can not gain- 
say or resist. In a word, we shall become wise unto sal- 
vation. If Christ dwells in us, we shall have peace ; for 
he is the "Prince of peace;" peace with God; peace of 
conscience ; peace with all men ; peace in all the tribula- 
tions and conflicts of life, and in the hour of conflict with 
the last enemy. Then have we "joy unspeakable and 
full of glory;" "joyful in hope," and in possession. Can 
that man be unhappy who has in him an undying source 
of consolation? " The water that I shall give him," says 
Christ, "will be in him a well of water springing up into 
everlasting life." 

2. " The life that he now lives " 

(1.) A life of self-denial; cheerfully denying himself 
of all sinful pleasures, indulgence, or gratification, of ease 
and honor ; cheerfully submitting to bear reproach and 
persecution for Christ's sake. The apostle "conferred not 
with flesh and blood," but counted all things but loss so 
that he might win Christ and a crown of glory. So we 
must imitate his example by a life of self-sacrifice. 

(2.) A life of patient suffering. When the deep, dark, 
34* 



402 



CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. 



and turbid waves of tribulation roll over us ; when the 
gathering clouds of adversity frown upon us ; when our 
circumstances present a cheerless and gloomy aspect ; 
then we are to possess our souls in patience. 

(3.) A life of prayer. As it is the language of de- 
pendence — an expression of want — and as it is appointed 
to convey the rich blessings of Divine consolation to the 
soul, so we must ask, if we would receive ; we must call 
upon God "in the day of trouble/' if we would be deliv- 
ered. Thus we must call upon God as long as we live. 

(4.) A life of labor, of untiring effort. We must enter 
cheerfully into every department of Christian duty. 
Many inviting fields of usefulness open before us. The 
or re at work of evangelizing the world is committed to the 
Church — the great work of saving souls from death. 
Our children, our friends and neighbors have strong 
claims upon our Christian sympathies. Our own souls 
demand our unremitting attention : " Keep thyself pure." 
Our life is a warfare to the end ; we shall find no time to 
rest till our Lord shall say, "It is enough; come up 
higher;" and then it will be said unto us, "Well done, 
good and faithful servant ; enter into the joy of thy 
Lord." 

3. The principle by which we should be actuated. "By 
the faith of the Son of God." Not simply the faith of 
assent or credence alone, as this is ascribed "to devils" 
and nominal professors of religion, but faith in the sense 
of trust, or reliance amounting to confidence — a recum- 
bency of a self-despairing soul upon the absolute suffi- 
ciency of the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

This faith apprehends Christ as our only Savior, in 
whom is concentrated all the fullness of the Godhead 
bodily. This constitutes a broad and immovable founda- 
tion, upon which all our hopes and prospects for time and 
eternity may repose in security 



CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. 



403 



This faith must be personal: " He loved me and gave 
himself for me;" appropriating all the merits of his death 
to ourselves, just as though we were the only sinners in 
the world that stood in need of God's mercy. However, 
this personal claim on our part does not exclude others; 
for each individual may set up the same claim, and say, 
" He loved me;" "For he, [Christ,] by the grace of God, 
tasted death for every man" Thus each individual has 
the same motive to love and obedience. How beautifully 
does the poet express this sublime truth : 

" 0, for such love let rocks and hills 
Their lasting silence break, 
And all harmonious, human tongues 
Ihe Savior's praises speak !" 

" Herein is love ; not that we loved God, but that he 
loved us." Here is an expression of love transcending 
all our conceptions. And shall not this exhibition of 
mercy and grace move our hearts to love him ? Shall 
not the melting scenes of Calvary win us to the obedience 
of faith? Shall not the groans and tears of incarnate 
compassion move us to love him with an undivided heart, 
and serve him with a willing mind? 

It is not to excite a vain curiosity or to gratify specula- 
tive inquiry that great and eminent characters are pre- 
sented to our view in the records of inspiration. The 
admiration of greatness of character seems to be a natural 
sentiment. Yet eminent examples of moral greatness, 
deep and uniform piety, may call forth our admiration. 



404 



THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE. 



SEKMON X. 

BY REV. CHARLES R. BALDWIN, 

OF THE OHIO ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 

THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE. 

"O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments ! then had thy 
peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea," 
Isaiah xxvm, 18. 

Men are disposed to ascribe their misfortunes and mis- 
ery to any thing but the right source ; whereas, if they are 
unhappy, they need not go farther than their own inatten- 
tion and mismanagement. It is too often with the people 
of God as with the men of this world : they make no pro- 
ficiency in the knowledge of God ; they are not blessed 
in his service, and are without any communications of his 
love; and too often they fail to examine, diligently and 
prayerfully, their past lives, to discover the real cause of 
their leanness and barrenness of soul. They ascribe their 
perplexed and unhappy condition to their great trials, sore 
persecutions, and heavy afflictions, and to any thing else 
but their own unfaithfulness. "0 that thou hadst heark- 
ened/' etc. 

L The obedience that should have been rendered. 

" Thy commandments are exceeding broad." God is 
addressing his people — to whom the holy commandments 
had been given. " They had known their Lord's will" — 
what he required of them — as ye all do. To them a list- 
ening ear should be lent. In relation to God, the great 
leading duty is, to keep in his love; that is, at the moment 
of conversion, when love is shed abroad in the heart. It 
is the first-fruits of evangelical faith, and is given before 
it can be rendered back to God. There are three great 



THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE. 



405 



channels of communication to the understanding and 
hearts of believers, and to these the ear is ever to be 
open, catching the least whisper ; for God does not always 
thunder conviction. It sometimes requires the closest and 
most exclusive attention. 

t. By the general instructions of his word. God com- 
mands us. How the great leading moral, social, relig- 
ious duties are clearly pointed out by God himself! They 
are of universal application. Not one of them ever has 
been or ever will be dispensed with. They are of the 
most binding and awful obligation ; and to break any of 
them, the least of them, is sin: and " the wages of sin is 
death.' ' There may not be an immediate forfeiture and 
sudden and entire loss ; but it is as certain that the least 
indulgence in pride of dress, evil temper, love of money, 
neglect of duty, will bring death into the soul, as intem- 
perance disease and death into the body. Hear, then, 
instructions in the written word — in the preaching of the 
Gospel. The end of preaching is to instruct out of the 
Scriptures ; to apply, to enforce, and to save from sin ; 
and nothing exceptionable in the manner or life of the 
preacher, prejudice or enmity to him, "if he be sent of 
God," can excuse you from obeying his instructions. If 
they are right, follow them ; for the manner in which he 
discharges his trust he is accountable to God ; but if he 
delivers God's message faithfully, on the peril of your 
soul, obey that message. 

2. By the reproofs and admonitions of conscience. This 
is a faculty of the soul which, by the grace of God, per- 
forms various offices at one and the same time. 

(1.) It manifests the real nature and quality of our 
thoughts and words. 

(2.) The rule by which they are governed. 

(3.) Their agreement or disagreement therewith. 

(4.) It acts as a judge, and inflicts its own sentence. 



406 



THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE. 



If we do right, it passes the judgment of approval, and 
confers the reward of inward satisfaction and delight. If 
we go astray, it accuses and condemns, and inflicts its sen- 
tence of pain, guilt, anguish, and remorse. It acts in- 
stantaneously, and pronounces judgment in anticipation of 
the act. Iso sooner is it suggested or proposed to the 
mind, than conscience, if alive, and at its post, like a sen- 
tinel on the very outskirts of the citadel, raises the alarm, 
and warns off the meditated assault. Of this faculty, 
God, by his Spirit, early takes possession, enlightening, 
quickening, and making tender; arming it with guilty 
terror, awful dread and pain; and forming it to tell out 
the emotions of the soul ; purging it from its guilty stains 
and inward impurity. It is a guide, a monitor, an in- 
ward witness of the sanctified affections and desires — the 
heavenly tempers and dispositions of the sanctified heart. 
It is none other than the true light, and by this God 
utters his commands. 

3. By the sweet influence of his Spirit. The Scriptures 
offer general rules applicable to all, or adapted to particu- 
lar classes of individuals, and conscience enables us to 
determine the moral quality of actions. But just as nec- 
essary is a special providence to our safety and happiness, 
and the special direction and assistance of the Holy Spirit 
given to our hearts. It is not enough to offer a general 
pardon to all that repent and believe ; I want a personal 
application of the blood of Christ — a sensible manifesta- 
tion of his love. / must feel it for myself. If God has 
any special "office or work" for me, he must tell me of it. 
I love that doctrine so universally received, that those 
who are called to preach are specially moved thereto by 
the Holy Ghost ; and the messenger of God is no more 
left to himself, after his call, in the matter, manner, and 
circumstances of his work than before in making choice 
of it. " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, 



THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE. 



407 



and ordained you," is not more clearly written than " Lo, 
I am with you " It is not ye that speak but the Spirit 
of your Father that speaketh in you;" " What we have 
received;" "The things we also speak;" referring, doubt- 
less, not only to his epistolary writings, but to his ordi- 
nary preaching and religious conversation at all times 
when imparting instruction in righteousness. If not, how 
would his hearers know how to draw the distinction, and 
when to receive what he taught as coming from God, and 
when from himself, unless he was careful to tell them? 
If, like Barnabas, he was full, not at any particular time, 
but as a general endowment of God, of the Holy Ghost, 
out of the abundance of the heart he must speak the 
things the Holy Ghost taught. And, if all believers, full, 
perfect believers, are "temples of the Holy Ghost," when 
speaking in His fullness, and in the name of Christ, may 
they not thus be specially taught? As the Spirit works 
in us, and produces impressions upon our hearts of what 
God has done for us, so he guides and directs us in the 
pathway of duty ; applies general instructions to our par- 
ticular cases, and gives special directions when genera A 
ones are insufficient. So under the patriarchal and Mosaic 
dispensations; what more common than to inquire of God, 
in cases of sickness and danger, for future direction in the 
common as well as extraordinary affairs of life ? And 
what does Christ premise to his disciples ? Howbeit, not 
by imparting the prophetic office ; but, when consulted, as 
one of his ordinary offices. "Be careful for nothing," 
(Paul.) "What things soever ye desire," (Christ.) 
"And this is the confidence," (John.) Thus does God, 
by his Spirit, command us ; or we may learn his will, or 
have special directions what to do, and how to speak, and 
how to act ; giving particular impressions of duty power- 
fully felt ; giving no peace till obeyed ; no rest till all our 
work is done. 



408 



THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE. 



II. The blessing that would have followed. 

" Then had thy peace flowed as a river/' had those 
admonitions of the word, conscience, and Spirit been 
obeyed. 

1. "Thy peace had been as a river ;" peace with God, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ : a happy union ; a loving, 
harmonious intercourse ; not keeping at a distance from 
each other; that is impossible; for we "live of him," and 
depend on him for every thing. It is said of Christ, "He 
is our peace makes us all one, and unites us to God. 
It is a calm, happy, and perfectly-balanced state of the 
soul ; the affections all alive and in motion, but perfect 
harmony; the thoughts lively, active, quick, but pleas- 
ant ; unruffled ; in delightful succession flowing through 
the soul; not a stagnation of mind, a dullness of feeling, 
a torpor of soul ; but a delightful current of intellectual 
and spiritual enjoyment. "Then had thy peace been as 
a river.' ' 

(1.) A river flows from some lake or fountain of a per- 
manent character. John saw a "pure river proceeding- 
out from the throne of God." The reviving and refresh- 
ing influences of the Spirit coming from the throne of 
grace in answer to prayer; or the fountain of our peace is 
the love of God fixed in the soul. " The vmter that I shall 
give him; " "He that believeth" etc. Like a river fed by 
innumerable streams and swelled by showers, our tide of 
consolation is daily fed by communications of Divine 
grace. The closet, family fireside, class-room, baptismal 
font, sacramental board ; the feast of charity ; the 
preaching of the Gospel and written word, all pour in 
their constant supplies, and enlarge the current of our 

(2.) A river is a flowing stream, characterized by 
depth, length, and breadth. The peace of the believer is a 
living, moving current in the soul. It moves in a deep, 



THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE. 



409 



broad channel, through the whole vista of life, and mingles 
its waters with the ocean of eternity. It has depths ; it 
is bottomless. Tempests may agitate it ; and the bark 
that rides upon it may leave a temporary furrow ; but it 
disturbs not its lower current. All is calm and tranquil 
deep in the soul. The agitation is soon over; the soul 
calmly stays upon God. It has breadth or expansion, and 
it has banks, though it often overflows them. Upon its 
deep, broad streams our hopes and treasures, yea, our all 
may float secure. Like the rivers of earth, it moves on- 
ward. Our peace becomes more deep, more expanded by 
the united supplies it is receiving from the smaller streams 
and fountains. It swells into a larger and more majestic 
stream, till it loses itself in the boundless ocean of love. 

Again : a river is not uniformly of the same depth, 
breadth, and motion. Sometimes it is temporarily ob- 
structed; yet it has the same increasing volume. It soon 
rises in strength, and overcomes every obstacle, and 
moves on and onward to the ocean. 

2. The further result of constant obedience. " Then 
had thy righteousness," etc. By righteousness here we 
may understand the progressive experience of believers- 
justification to holiness — the little fountains along the 
river of peace to the boundless ocean of God's redeeming 
love. At first the fountain opens, begins to play, and 
sends forth its sweet and pure waters of life, furrowing its 
winding channels over pebbles, and among rocks, and be- 
neath shady currents ; but sparkling and murmuring on. 
Fed by other streams, it increases to be a mountain tor- 
rent; but, widening and deepening, it moves on through 
the peaceful vale, till enlarging and swelling to a mighty 
flood, it pours its mighty waters into the ocean. Such is 
the experience of the faithful. More and more abundant 
are God's mercies to them, larger and larger the river of 
his goodness, and deeper and deeper his love, and more 

35 



410 



THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE. 



and more resistless the tide of salvation, till the soul finds 
itself upon a boundless and bottomless ocean of love — 
"an abyss of mercy." To the mariner on the ocean the 
liquid element on which he rides seems bounded by noth- 
ing but the skies. So is the full experience of the perfect 
believer in Christ. All is love and heaven ; " God is love, 
and he that dwelleth in God dwelleth in love." Who can 
fathom the stretch of vision — can comprehend the bound- 
less and amazing love in which the soul dwells ? Mercy 
after mercy rises, " like waves of the sea," in endless suc- 
cession. All is love beneath and around, and all is heaven 
and glory above. Evermore there is joy; every pulsa- 
tion of the heart is prayer ; like the wave, a lifting up of 
itself to God ; and every successive event brings thanks 
to God. " O that thou hadst known," etc. Is this your 
experience ? 

Improvement. 

By way of conclusion, what is advisable to be done ? 

1. Is this experience attainable? What says St. Paul? 
'"'Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with 
God, through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we 
have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and 
rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, 
but we glory in tribulations also ; knowing that tribulation 
worketh patience ; and patience, experience; and experi- 
ence, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed: because the 
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy 
Ghost which is given unto us;" "For this cause I bow 
my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of 
whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 
that he would grant you, according to the riches of his 
glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the 
inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by 
faith ; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be 
able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, 



THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE. 



411 



and length, and depth, and hight ; and to know the 
love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might 
be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that 
is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask 
or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto 
him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout 
all ages, world without end. Amen." What says St. 
Peter? " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, 
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resur- 
rection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance 
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, 
reserved in heaven for you;" " Whom having not seen, 
ye love ; in whom, though now you see him not, yet be- 
lieving, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory : 
receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your 
souls." What says John? " Whoso keepeth his word, 
verily in him is the love of God perfected." What is per- 
fect love? "And we have known and believed the love 
that God hath to us. God is love : and he that dwelleth 
in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our 
love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day 
of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 
There is no fear in love ; but perfect love casteth out 
fear : because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not 
made perfect in love." 

2. Are there any that attain it now? If ever, why not 
now ? Wesley found six hundred and fifty-two in London, 
and a great number in other places. It is no uncommon 
thing in our day and country to find many thus walking. 
I know many who have passed into this sea of love. But 
says an objector, " I can see no difference between them 
and others. They have their infirmities, like other men." 
" The world knoweth us not ." Which of you convinceth 
me of sin?" Have you ever seen them when happy in 



412 



THL LAW OF LIBERTY. 



God — at least at peace with him? "I have seen them 
angry" So was Christ. " Selfish." Prove it. " They 
are, doubtless, exact" So is God. " Strictly just ; proud 
in appearance; fond of praise." How do you know it? 
" Of power " Perhaps it belongs to their office. ''But 
I have tried." Had you faith? How long? persevtr- 
ingly ? Obedience necessary; omit nothing. "0 thac 
thou hadst hearkened!" Try again; be diligent; give up 
your whole heart to it: " Then will your peace be as a 
river." Amen. 



SERMON XI. 

BY REV. ELIJAH SPARKS. 

THE LAW OF LIBERTY* 

"But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth 
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man 
shall be blessed in his deed," James i, 25. 

How certain it is that man has an inquisitive soul, a 
vast, capacious, and anxious mind, fond of variety and 
novelty ! Our philosophy teaches us to believe that this 
mind is never still — that this soul sleepeth not. From 
an immeasurable thirst after knowledge and improvement, 

This sermon was preached at a quarterly meeting in Cincinnati, on 
Sabbath, June 17, 1510, and written out by Mr. Sparks, and presented to 
Rev. Marcus Lindsey for his own private use. The manuscript was found 
among the papers of the late Rev. John Sale, by whose son it was handed 
to the Corresponding Secretary of the ''Western Methodist Historical So- 
ciety," my highly-esteemed friend Samuel Williams, Esq., by whom it 
was copied for publication in this work. Mr. Sparks was a member of 
the Baltimore conference for more than twelve years. He resided, for 
some time, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and died while crossing the Alle- 
ghany Mountains, on a journey eastward, more than twenty years ago. 
F rom all that I can learn of his history, he was a very popular and useful 
Methodist preacher. 



THE LAW OF LIBERTY. 



413 



she is urged to range the fields of speculation ; of specu- 
lative theories ; of the arts and the sciences. But in her 
flights she too seldom lights down upon her summum 
bonum; her chief concern; that which should be the ulti- 
mate end of all her exercises, namely, to form an ac- 
quaintance with her God, to fear him, and to keep his 
commandments ; for while inventing new systems or pros- 
ecuting old ones, this important duty is principally over- 
looked. But if, at any time, this subject should engage 
her attention, she detains it only to give it a slight survey, 
a superficial investigation ; and the views thus obtained 
are better calculated to bewilder the thoughts and to lead 
into error, than to enlighten and instruct the understanding 
and improve the heart. 

To guard against this mischief appears to be one lead- 
ing object the apostle James had in view when penning 
his epistle, but more especially that portion of it which we 
have chosen for our present meditation. This passage 
points out to us, without any possibility of mistake, that 
course which it is proper for us to observe while sojourn- 
ing in this present world, under all, even the most difficult 
stations and relations in which we can be placed. We 
are invited to give the subject a close, a practical examin- 
ation ; to do which we shall 

I. Consider the •subject itself, as proposed for our 

INVESTIGATION. 

II. Show in what manner a successful investigation 

SHOULD BE MADE. 

III. Point out some of the advantages arising from 
its being made. 

I. Resuming the established order, we are, in the first 

O 77 

place, to consider the subject proposed for an investigation. 
It is the "perfect law of liberty. " Some suppose the 
moral law to be here meant in opposition to the ceremonial. 
Others suppose the Gospel dispensation, while others divine 

35* 



414 



THE LAW Otf LIBERTY. 



revelation in general. To this latter opinion I should give 
the preference. But why not consider it as pointing to that 
law at first written in the heart of man by his Creator, 
but now produced by a living faith in Jesus Christ, and 
having for its objects God and all intelligent creation — the 
law of love? Law is apposite or appropriate to love. 
What is law ? Law is understood to be the command of 
some person or power, the precept of which carries with 
it the reasonableness of obedience. The command must 
flow from an authority sufficient to impose the obligation 
of obedience. Moral law, properly speaking, is a stand- 
ard whereby to weigh moral actions — a rule by which to 
measure moral deportment. Love is such a law. Cor- 
rupt must be the man, and totally lost to serious reflec- 
tion, and ignorant of first principles, who shall dare to 
question or challenge the supremacy or authority of the 
source or great Author of this law. He is "Lord of lords 
and King of kings he is "over all, and blessed for ever- 
more;" he holds unlimited control and bears universal 
sway in the heavens above and in the earth beneath. 
This law is his command, clearly expressed and fully de- 
clared. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and 
thy neighbor as thyself/' is the language of the holy Law- 
giver. It is a law at first written on £he heart of man by 
his Creator. We may well suppose that while man pre- 
served his innocence, and stood correct before his God, 
before he apostatized into sin, love was the first impression 
on his heart, the ruling passion of his soul. It is a law 
paramount to all other laws, the fulfilling of all law, and 
the end of the commandments. It is the standard by 
which all moral actions shall be tested — the rule by which 
all moral conduct will be measured. And as it is a law 
which flows from a supreme authority, the precepts 
thereof carry the reasonableness of obedience. What 



THE LAW OF LIBERTY. 



415 



can be more reasonable than that creatures of a day 
should love their immortal Creator? Nothing. He is 
the heavenly Parent of all existence, the kind Protector of 
universal nature, and the provident Benefactor to man. 
Every argument urges and every obligation requires that 
man should love his God. It is also reasonable that man 
should love his fellow ; derived from the same parent 
stock; partaking of similar natures, principles, passions, 
frailties, weakness, wants, guilt, and infirmities ; inhabit- 
ants of the same troublesome world ; sharing together its 
adversities and prosperities ; holding the same dependence 
on their common Lord and upon each other ; and proba- 
tioners for the same awful eternity. Then 

" Teach me to feel another's woe, 
To hide the fault I see ; 
That mercy I to others show, 
That mercy show to me." 

This is also a u perfect law." It is perfect in its origin, 
flowing from the Legislator of all worlds. And his perfec- 
tion, what mind can comprehend, what eloquence can 
describe? Should the first archangel that surrounds the 
throne of God take his stand in this pulpit, and address 
you on the perfection of the Deity ; should he exhaust his 
store of heavenly eloquence in description, he might raise 
new ideas in your minds ; he might please and charm ; he 
might enrapture, astonish, and amaze ; but he could not 
unfold the perfection of God. Nay ; should we be so for- 
tunate as to see him in heaven, in the fullness of his glory 
and perfection, we shall be constrained to say our ears 
had not heard the half, our hearts had not conceived but 
as a drop from the infinite ocean. This law, flowing from 
so high a source of perfection, is perfect, needing no 
amendment. While the wisest system of laws ever yet 
established by the most sage legislature ever organized, 
either in Asia, Africa, Europe, or America, however per- 



416 



THE LAW OF LIBERTY. 



feet or well designed in their passage, yet all-trying time 
has discovered them to be the works of fallible men, and 
that their acts, from necessity, must be either repealed or 
amended. 

The perfection of this law sets at defiance the shocks 
and revolutions of time, descending through all ages and 
nations without sustaining any diminution, without need- 
ing any improvement or amendment; which, indeed, it 
could not receive without impairing, without endangering 
its very existence. And it is a law no less perfect in its 
essential parts, declaring what must be done and what 
omitted, and pointing out or declaring the punishment in- 
curred by neglecting to do what is commanded, or 
attempting what is prohibited. " Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God," etc., is its direction; and, "If any man 
love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema 
maranatha," is its sanction; and an awful sanction it is. 
"Anathema" — let him be accursed from the Church; 
"Maranatha" — for the Lord will come and confirm the 
curse. 

This is also a law of liberty. It discharges the obedient 
subjects from bondage, rescues them from captivity, and 
destroys or removes all fear that hath torment. Love is 
the essence of liberty. All those who have felt its soft 
influence know that it levels all restraint, opens an inter- 
course and freedom, and establishes a union among the 
subjects, unknown to others, and beyond the power of any 
other cause to produce. 

Of what importance that we thoroughly comprehend, 
justly appreciate, and faithfully practice on the precepts 
of this law — a law so happy in its consequences, so equal, 
so reasonable, and so equally binding on all the sons and 
daughters of mortality ! 

II. The manner of obtaining a useful knowledge of this 
law will appear by considering the second thing proposed. 



THE LAW OF LIBERTY. 



417 



1. It is by "looking into ;" by inspecting and reinspecting 
it; by examining it closely on all sides, in all its relations ; 
and by sifting it to the bottom. This is something more 
than taking a superficial survey of its externals, of its 
letter, or the A's and B's by which it is expressed. 
Little, indeed, must that man know of law who looks 
nothing beyond these. To understand, he would look 
inside ; he would dive to the foundation ; he would exam- 
ine the first principles ; he would drink into its spirit. 
And in like manner this " perfect law of liberty' ' should 
be scrutinized; but not to find out its imperfections, could 
any be supposed ; not to discover its motes or beams, 
could any appear ; but to behold its harmony and fitness 
to himself ; in fact, to learn his own true state and char- 
acter; to enlighten the understanding, to improve the 
mind, and to instruct the heart ; to learn the holiness of 
the law and the unholiness of the examiner; in fine, to 
see what manner of persons we are and should be. We 
must search therein, not for a day, or a few days, or 
months, or years ; but 

2. We must continue to do so. Otherwise, we shall be 
like the natural man beholding his face in the mirror of 
glass, who turneth away and immediately forgetteth what 
manner of person he was. We can see the reflection of 
our likeness no longer than we continue to view it in the 
glass. If we turn away, the prospect soon disappears. 
In like manner, if we do not continue to look into this 
Gospel mirror, we shall lose sight of the state of our 
hearts, which we should not do, although the sight be 
ever so frightful, ever so corrupt and degenerate ; for, at 
the same view, we behold a 6 'sovereign balm," an infalli- 
ble remedy — the " Lamb of God which taketh away the 
sin of the world." And, if we do not " continue therein," 
we shall lose our past labor; the " light that is in us will 
become darkness," and our liberty will become slavery; 



418 



THE LAW OF LIBERTY. 



we shall be brought again into bondage, "under the beg- 
garly elements of this world;" we shall become "serv- 
ants to sin," and subjects of the flesh and the devil; but 
to maintain our standing, we are 

3. Not to be "forgetful hearers." We are to treasure up 
with care what we learn, and learn all we can. We 
should recollect the subject, and con it over and over. 
Like a faithful schoolboy poring over that portion assigned 
him by his preceptor, that he may have his answers at 
fingers' point, so we should often bring this great lesson in 
review before us, that the impression thereof may become 
deep and lasting ; and, to effect this, we should 

4. " Be doers of the work" practicing daily, hourly what 
tve learn. We should be ever employed in the noble, the 
pleasing "labor of love:" first, to God, by honoring him 
in obedience; by admiring and adoring his inimitable 
character ; by glorifying him in our bodies and our spirits ; 
and, in full, by doing all things to the glory of God ; and, 
secondly, to our neighbors, by doing to them all possible 
good, without respect of persons ; relieving their wants as 
ability may empower and opportunity offer, to their souls 
as well as to their bodies ; teaching and instructing them 
in the precepts of this law, by precept and by example ; 
praying with and for them ; but not only to our friends, but 
enemies, returning them good for evil, praying for cursing, 
and you shall be blessed in the "deed" or work. 

III. These remarks lead me, in the third place, to point 
out some of the advantages arising from making this in- 
vestigation. I say some of these advantages; for "eye 
hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered 
into the heart of man to conceive" their full extent. He 
is blessed or happy — "is, inquam, beatior erit in opere 
suo." It is immaterial whether we consider him happy or 
blessed ; for he that is one is proportionally the other ; and 
blessed, thrice blessed, is the man who can bring his 



THE LAW OF LIBERTY. 



419 



moral deportment in review before this great standard, 
this grand criterion, without a blush ; who can make the 
most exact comparison and measurement without appre- 
hension ; who shall hear the divine voice of this law, in 
melodious accents, pronouncing an acquittal, "I find no 
fault in thee." In Christ thou art approved and accepted. 
Conscience receives the healing sound and seals the plaudit 
home on the gladdened heart. Conscience commends. 

"Wliat conscience dictates to be done, 
Or warns me not to do, 
This teach me more than hell to shun, 
That more than heaven pursue." 

Let tempests gather without ; let the floods descend and 
the rains beat ; 

"Let cares, like a wild deluge, come; 
Let storms of sorrow fall;" 

there is yet a calm within ; conscience is still, and peace 
extends her olive branch ; yea, Jehovah himself smiles ; 
he reflects the brightness of his face, the shining of his 
countenance on that soul. Happy man ! thou art blessed 
of thy God ! Listen, listen to his heavenly words ! 
1 ' Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the 
ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in 
the seat of the scornful ; but his delight is in the law of 
the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night, 
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water 
that bringeth forth his fruit in season ; his leaf also shall 
not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." 
Blessed is the man who delighteth to meditate on and 
walk in this law. He is rooted in a most fertile soil ; he 
is ever flourishing, and prosperity attends the work of his 
hands. All around him share in the fruit of his labor of 
love. The blessing of the poor, the needy, the widow, 
and the fatherless are upon him. Happy he lives ; tran- 
quil and resigned he dies ; for in the valley of the shadow 



420 



THE LAW OF LIBERTY. 



of death he fears no evil, because the Lord his God is with 
him. Before assembled worlds, in the presence of his 
awful Judge, he stands unshaken, because the law is on 
his side, and the Judge is his immortal friend. In heaven 
he receives the blessing of his Father and God. He 
receives "an inheritance which is incorruptible and unde- 
filed, and that fadeth not away.'' 0, blessed man! 

But "the ungodly," the sinner, the transgressor, "are 
not so : but are like the chaff which the wind drive th 
away." Light like the chaff and blasted off, they are 
"driven away in their wickedness. " They are like the 
"briers and thorns," the useless branches which the 
husbandman cutteth off and gathereth together to be 
burned. God is angry with them every day. His curses 
are upon them; they can not "stand in the congregation 
of the righteous." The law condemns them, and the 
Judge pronounces the terrible sentence, " Depart from me, 
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and 
his angels." 0, misery incomparable, tribulation inde- 
scribable must be the portion of their cup for evermore ! 
Nothing can prevent this death and damnation but a 
return to duty, a return to rectitude, a return to the pre- 
cepts of the perfect law of liberty. 

Return, then ; 0, return ! Arise, fathers, arise, mothers, 
and return ! arise, sons, arise, daughters, and return ! arise, 
brothers, arise, sisters, and return ! The mighty God, the 
everlasting Father, the Prince of peace will interpose his 
mercy ; will extend his pardon and forgiveness ; will shield 
you by his graces ; will fold you in the mantle of his love ; 
will save you from the damnation of hell. Amen, 



IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS. 421 



SEKMON XII. 

BY RE Y. RUSSEL BI GEL W, 

OF THE OHIO ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 

IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS. 
"He hath not dealt so with any nation," Psalm cxlyie, 20. 

Revelation and reason conspire to prove that there is 
a supreme Being, a great First Cause of all things, by 
whom and for whom all things were created and are 
upheld or preserved. Were it not for revelation, how- 
ever, we should be left in the dark vale of uncertainty and 
doubt. Notwithstanding all that has been said of the 
plain lessons that are written in the book of nature and 
the information that can be gained from her fair pages, 
or however certain we might be of the existence of a God 
when arguing from effects to causes, the want of knowl- 
edge relative to the effects in question, the difficulty of 
embracing spirit in our conclusions when our premises are 
laid in matter, and the disorders in the natural and moral 
world for which we could not account without revelation, 
would plunge us into serious difficulties, doubts, and per- 
plexities. But when the plowshare of Revelation has 
broken through, and her light has poured its effulgence 
into the minds of men, then Reason, which is the dutiful 
handmaid of Revelation, gives sanction to the truth her 
mistress has taught, and confirms the attentive and sin- 
cere in the truths they have embraced. When aided by 
Revelation, we see contrivance, great skill, and infinite wis- 
dom manifested in all the works of God. We see him 
shine in the sun and blossom in the trees ; while all the 

" Preached on the anniversary of American independence, July 4, 
36 



422 



IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS. 



disorders alluded to are so rationally accounted for, that we 
are constrained to say, 

"How passing wonder He who made hini such!" 
Embracing him as our Creator, we are led to acknowledge 
him as our preserver, and admire his wisdom and goodness 
in all his works of providence. The continued shining 
of the sun; the regular revolution of all the planets; the 
regular return of the seasons, with the great variety of 
circumstances accompanying each season, as much be- 
speak the continued wisdom of God as the formation 
of all things bespoke his wisdom when first they were 
formed. 

As we were first formed by the hand of God, so now in 
him we live, move, and have our being. There is a 
remarkable connection and gradation in the works of God, 
from inanimate matter up to the highest grade of created 
beings, and all are governed by laws suited to their nature 
and rank. The great Creator has an undoubted right to 
give to one kind of beings ten talents and to another but 
half a one, and to one nation or individual of the same 
nature five talents and to another nation or individual but 
one. So he requires no more than the improvement of 
what he has given, in order to administer or execute the 
laws so suited to the different natures and capacities of his 
creatures in such a way that he may be glorified in all the 
works of his hands, and as many of the human race be 
saved as can be consistent with his plan and their agency. 
Jehovah exercises a special as well as general providence 
over all his works, so that "not a sparrow can fall to the 
ground without his notice ;" so that we may safely say, 
li There is nothing takes place in heaven, earth, or hell 
without his notice and permission." To deny the provi- 
dence of God, is virtually to deny his existence. To be- 
lieve in a general providence and deny a special providence, 
is to believe in a genus and deny its species; it is to admit 



IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS. 423 

the existence of a whole and deny the existence of its parts, 
and, of course, to admit and not admit at the same time. 
We are not, however, to suppose that by a special provi- 
dence we are to understand the regular movement of a great 
machine, made up of great and lesser wheels, all moving 
according to fixed design, without any power to deviate. 
God has created men moral agents, and deals with them 
as such. He governs them by moral laws, and has given 
them the awful power of violation, without which, as they 
would not be punishable, so they would not be rewardable. 
But this much we do understand, that God has a perfect 
knowledge of all things which do and will transpire, and 
that nothing takes place but by his permission, and that he 
permits nothing to take place but what he can overrule to 
his glory and the good of his saints ; and, although he 
deals with men as moral agents, he reserves to himself 
the right of suspending their agency when they would do 
what can not be made to subserve his divine purposes, 
according to the following declaration: u He maketh the 
wrath of man to praise him, and restrains the remainder 
of wrath. " If we have a correct view, it must be mani- 
festly improper to ascribe any thing to blind chance. But, 
having this view of Divine providence, we are prepared to 
acknowledge that if there is any good done in the earth, 
"the Lord hath done it." We are prepared also to 
acknowledge either a causing or permissive providence in 
every thing that takes place ; and, while we praise the 
Lord for the blessings bestowed on us, we are prepared to 
receive afflictions without alarm and without murmuring. 
As individuals, and as a nation, we have received abund- 
ant favors at the hand of God. Indeed, so great and 
abundant are the favors conferred on us that, with pro- 
priety, we may unite in saying, in the language of my 
text, " He hath not dealt so with any nation" — he hath 
not so freely and fully bestowed upon any people so great 



424 



IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS. 



loving-kindness and tender regard. In the discussion of 
this subject I design 

L To GIVE A LITERAL EXPOSITION OF THE TEXT, OR 
NOTICE THE GREAT THINGS DONE FOR THE ISRAELITES. 

II. Consider God's dealing with our nation. 

III. Show the returns and improvement we should 

MAKE. 

Resuming the order proposed, I shall 

I. Give a literal exposition of the text, or notice 

THE GREAT THINGS DONE FOR THE ANCIENT ISRAELITES. 

The Psalmist spoke these words with reference to the 
J ewish nation, and to the special and abundant blessings 
God had imparted to that people, by which he had dis- 
tinguished them from all other nations. 

1. He had delivered them from idolatry. Notwith- 
standing God had declared that he was the only God, and 
had made known his aversion to idolatry and sin by a 
universal and world- destroying flood, a very large propor- 
tion of the inhabitants of the earth sunk again into idol- 
atry and wickedness ; but that God who had determined 
the redemption of the human race, remembered his an- 
cient promise, and selected Abraham, the son of Terah, a 
Chaldean, to be the progenitor of a peculiar people and 
of the promised Messiah. Abraham, being thus called to 
sustain a peculiar relation to his Maker, and to enjoy 
peculiar privileges, formed and cultivated an acquaintance 
with the Lord, and taught his posterity that the mighty 
God was the only proper object of worship, as he was the 
only source of happiness. Hence, while the heathen 
nations worshiped the sun and stars, the walking quad- 
rupeds, flying fowls, creeping serpents, and growing 
vegetables, the Israelites, more enlightened and better 
informed, worshiped the God of the whole earth. They 
were provided for in the land of Egypt in the time of 
famine. When oppressed, the Lord espoused their cause, 



IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS. 



425 



and delivered them from Egyptian bondage with a high 
hand and an outstretched arm. The Red Sea divided to 
give them a safe passage and secure them from their 
oppressors, while the returning waters overwhelmed and 
destroyed their bloodthirsty pursuers. The limpid stream 
gushed from the flinty rock to satiate their thirst, while 
manna daily descended from above to save them from 
hunger and afford them nourishment. The opposing Am- 
orites and gigantic Bashanites trembled and fled before 
them ; for the Lord fought their battles ; and, although 

* O 7 7 o 

the fathers left their carcasses in the wilderness, conse- 
quent upon disobedience, their children passed through 
parting Jordan in triumph, while the massy walls of Jer- 
icho came tumbling down, and surrounding nations, trem- 

O 7 O 7 

bling, speedily retired or fell down dead. One chased a 
thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight; and the 
Lord gave them an inheritance in the land promised to 
their fathers — a land flowing with milk and honey. They 
were blessed in their basket and in their store with whole- 
some laws and religious privileges, with prophets, priests, 
and instructors. In short, while they were obedient they 
were favored with rich and abundant blessings, temporal 
and spiritual, and with still brighter prospects ; so that, 
with propriety, the Psalmist might say, " He hath not 
dealt so with any nation.' ' But we do well to recollect 
that the American nation was not at that time established. 
Had it been, or had there been any nation in existence 
like ours, David certainly would have made one exception. 
This will more fully appear when we shall have 
II. Considered God's dealings with our nation. 

1. He has bestowed blessings on us in common with all 
other nations. Life and being, etc. 

2. He has bestowed special blessings on us as a nation. 
(1.) He has saved us from British bondage, which em- 
braces two things, monarchy and the English hierarchy ; 

36* 



426 IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS. 

and what an indescribable favor is this! How many in- 
calculable blessings have been therewith connected ! Who 
can read the history of former times without admitting 
this ? A recollection of the severe oppressions our ances- 
tors suffered ; the heavy duties on them imposed, and the 
contempt with which they were treated, while their pe- 
titions were disregarded, their remonstrances slighted, 
their reasonable prayers unheard, and self-important lords 
endeavored to subject them at a blow, will influence us to 
exclaim, " What hath the Lord wrought! The Lord hath 
done great things for us, whereof we are glad." But it 
may be inquired, " Has the Lord done this? Had he any 
hand in blood and carnage?" To doubt this would be to 
ascribe to blind chance one of the greatest deliverances 
modern history records. Who can contemplate the many 
circumstances connected with our Revolutionary struggle, 
and doubt a superintending Providence ? Monarchy never 
was directly established by Jehovah. It made its first 
appearance in Nimrod, the mighty hunter. Afterward, a 
number of monarchies were established in the heathen 
world ; but some ages passed away before there was such 
an establishment in the chosen generation, and then it was 
only suffered for the hardness of their hearts. The 
Psalmist says, " He gave them a king in his displeasure." 
It is not reasonable to suppose that the great Ruler of the 
universe designed a regular descent of power and dignity 
from father to son, whether he should be a wise man or a 
fool, an angel or a devil. The British nation had become 
proud and haughty. They needed chastisement, and God 
wisely chastised them in such a manner as gave birth to a 
powerful nation and a system of government which has 
astonished the world. Indeed, I will venture an opinion 
that such was their wickedness and pride that God gave 
them up to judicial blindness and infatuation that they 
might bring on themselves deserved chastisement, and 



IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS. 427 

influence our nation to contend for deliverance, and enjoy 
the sweets of liberty. Who that reads the parliamentary 
speeches of those times can doubt this — especially the 
speeches of Lord North — a man renowned for wisdom? 
But what blind zeal, what strange infatuation are mani- 
fested in his speeches of those times ! One would be 
ready to suppose that his mind was absent, or that his 
tongue refused to be governed by the deliberations and 
decisions of the mind. The sagacious Pitt clearly discov- 
ered and plainly predicted the consequences of such a 
course as was proposed and contended for. Again, the 
number of men of astonishing talents who arose in Amer- 
ica at that time, by whom plans were contrived and car- 
ried into successful operation, is indicative of the peculiar 
care and providence of God. We might speak of Frank- 
lin, and Henry, and others, as well as of the famed states- 
man and hero, whose praise is in all countries where lib- 
erty is not entirely banished. But we forbear, in order to 
remark that when we consider the character and preserva- 
tion of the celebrated Washington, we can but discover a 
special providence exercised toward our nation. What 
difficulties and dangers did he pass through unhurt! 
How many fell on either hand while he remained un- 
touched ! How many times were instruments of death 
pointed at his heart! but their life-destroying contents 
were turned aside by an unseen hand! * ' Every bullet 
had its billet.'' The sagacious man of the woods, the 
barbarian of the forest, who had taken deadly aim at the 
sterling youth no less than sixteen times in vain, was at 
length constrained to exclaim, "He was not made to be 
killed by a ball!" Many of the circumstances attending 
our Revolutionary struggle equally evince a special provi- 
dence. Witness the detection of the gallant and enter- 
prising yet lamented Major Andre, at a time when a large 
division of the American army seemed doomed to de- 



428 



IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS. 



struction or captivity by the treachery of the detested 
Arnold. But time would fail to enumerate all the special 
deliverances wrought out for our nation. Suffice it to say 
that, though the Lord suffered their enemies to gain some 
partial victories, that they might more fully realize their 
dependence on him, and thereby be prevented from 
becoming proud and haughty, he delivered them time 
after time, and finally gave them a complete victory, to 
the great mortification of their oppressors. 

(2.) He has blessed us with good and wholesome laws; 
that is, speaking on general principles ; so that, by uniting 
in compact under our present economy, we obtain many 
more advantages than we surrender. 

(3.) He has blessed us with a land of plenty, a fertile 
soil, and agreeable climate. 

(4.) He has blessed us with religious privileges and 
ordinances. 

III. The returns and improvements we should make. 

1 . We should give the Lord all the praise and glory. 

2. We should observe those measures calculated to con- 
tinue our independence as a nation. 

(1.) Economy; have good and wholesome laws; pre- 
serve good order; avoid extravagance and expense. 

(2.) Defense. Though war is to be deprecated and 
shunned, defense is right. 

(3.) We should impress the rising generation with a 
sense of their obligation to God, and the importance of 
acting wisely. We should acquaint them with the history 
of our nation. We should inform them of our sufferings, 
and tell them of our deliverances. It is very proper to 
keep or celebrate the day on which the sun of liberty 
arose, to keep it as a kind of memorial, and tell our rising 
progeny the great design. I do not mean that we should 
keep it as it is usually kept. The common course is dis- 
gusting to every considerate man, and highly offensive to 



IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS. 



429 



Heaven. How inconsistent, because God has given us 
liberty, to get drunk, fight, sport and play, and spend the 
time as if we were never to die ! Methinks if the pious 
Washington could put his tongue in some thunder- mouth 
he would make us hear, " My children, do not so wick- 
edly!" 

(4.) We should be particular in electing our rulers. 
(5.) We should perform the duties connected with our 
stations. 

(6.) We should avoid and suppress intemperance and 
immorality. 

(7.) Promote morality and religion, and render each 
other happy. 

(8.) Pray much to God, and strive for heaven. 
Inference. 

1. Our obligations and accountability to God. 

2. Our ingratitude and wickedness as a nation. 

3. We may discover the continued goodness of God. 

4. Our future glory and greatness, if we improve. 

5. We may infer our awful destruction, if we are rebel- 
lious. 



THE END. 



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